• 


THE  LIFE  OF  QUEEN 
HENRIETTA  MARIA    . 

VOL.   II 


■  .  ,...-....  r    ■.■.-■-.■■..  ■ 


^////r//    s  /fs  //  /■/*//,, 


uz  <^/wUz,-?-/f/ 


V  //, 


THE  LIFE  OF  QUEEN 
HENRIETTA    MARIA 

By    I.  A.   TAYLOR,   Author    of 

"  Lord    Edward    Fitzgerald,"   etc.  £  £ 


WITH  32  FULL-PAGE  ILLUSTRATIONS  AND 
2    PHOTOGRAVURE   FRONTISPIECES 


VOL.   II 


SECOND    EDITION 


NEW  YORK 
E.  P.  DUTTON  AND  COMPANY 

j  906 


[Printed  in   Great  Britain] 


•  *  •    ■    ••   - 


CONTENTS 

VOL.    II 


CHAPTER    XV 
1644 


PAGE 

Henrietta  as  wife  and  mother — Her  reception  in  France — "La  grande 
Mademoiselle'' — Arrival  in  Paris — A  changed  court— Henrietta 
in  middle  age — Her  life  in  Paris — Jermyn — Newcastle — Letters 
to  the  King 307 


CHAPTER    XVI 

1645 — ID46 

The  King  at  Oxford — Henrietta  at  work  in  Paris — Her  court— The 
Nuncio  at  Paris — Percy  and  Wilmot — Marriage  projects  for  the 
Prince  oi  Wales — The  King's  letters — Henrietta's  illness — 
Naseby — The  King's  policy  and  character — Hopes  of  help  from 
Rome — Surrender  of  Bristol — Charles'  correspondence        .         .     326 


CHAPTER    XVII 

1646 — 1647 

The  Prince  of  Wales  in  Jersey— Digby's  schemes — Henrietta 
summons  him  to  Paris — Distrust  of  Jermyn  and  the  Queen — 
Prince  of  Wales  at  Paris — Mademoiselle — Charles'  position — 
His  letters — Arrival  in  France  of  Henriette-Anne — A  ball  in  Paris 
— Charles'  plans — Rumoured  journey  of  the  Queen  and  Prince  to 
Ireland — Lady  Derby  and  her  family 348 


PAGE 


vi  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER    XVIII 

1647 — 1649 

Charles  handed  over  to  the  Parliament — Difficulty  of  communication 
— Affairs  in  Paris — The  Prince's  position  there — Improvement 
in  the  King's  condition — Paris — The  Prince  of  Wales  and  his 
cousins — An  expedition  planned — Disturbances  in  Paris — 
Collapse  of  the  Royalist  rising — Hyde  and  the  Queen — Charles 
in  the  Isle  of  Wight — The  Queen's  appeal — His  execution  .         .     368 

CHAPTER    XIX 

1649 

Paris  in  1649 — The  Queen's  poverty — Her  reception  of  the  news  of  the 
King's  death — Charles  II.  and  his  mother — His  marriage  with 
Mademoiselle  again  in  question — Charles  in  France — Disputes 
with  the  Queen — Hyde's  intervention — A  visit  from  Mademoiselle 
— Charles  leaves  France 389 

CHAPTER    XX 

1649— 165 1 

Chaillot — The  Christmas  of  1649 — Opposition  to  the  Queen  amongst 
Royalists — Its  causes — Jermyn — Hyde's  correspondence — Meet- 
ing of  Queen  and  King  at  Beauvais — Henrietta's  indignation  at 
Charles'  compact  with  the  Scotch — Disorders  in  Paris — Death 
of  Princess  Elizabeth — Quarrels  with  the  Duke  of  York — Death 
of  the  Prince  of  Orange — Nicholas  and  Ormond — Lord  Digby 
— Religious  ministrations  to  the  English  refugees — Walter 
Montagu's  influence — Return  of  the  Duke  of  York — Worcester  .     411 

CHAPTER    XXI 

1651 — 1653 

Charles'  return  to  Paris — A  gay  winter— Hyde,  Nicholas,  and  the 
Queen — Jealousy  of  her  influence — Duke  of  York  joins  the 
French  army  —  Charles  and  Mademoiselle  —  The  Fronde  — 
Charles'  life  in  Paris— Henrietta's  intervention  between  court 
and  Fronde — Hostility  of  the  populace — Withdrawal  to  Saint- 
Germain — Removal  to  the  Palais  Royal — Quarrels  between 
Henrietta  and  Hyde — France  and  England — Release  of  the 
Duke  of  Gloucester —  Charles'  defence  of  Hyde   ....     434 


CONTENTS  vii 

CHAPTER    XXII 

1653— 1654 


PAGE 


Peace  rumours  between  England  and  Holland — Henriette-Anne — 
Disputes  with  Charles — The  Duke  of  Gloucester — Interview  of 
the  Queen  with  Hyde — Charles'  departure — Anne  Hyde — 
Attempted  conversion  of  Gloucester — He  is  removed  from  Paris 
— Princess  Louise  a  convert 454 


CHAPTER    XXIII 

1655— 1656 

Court  parties — The  Cardinal  and  Henrietta— Family  reconciliations 
— Louis  XIV.  and  Henriette-Anne — The  Princess  Royal's  visit — 
Disagreements  between  the  Duke  of  York  and  the  King — The 
Princess  and  Henry  Jermyn 473 


CHAPTER    XXIV 
1657 — 1660 

Treaty  with  Spain — Henrietta's  appeal  to  Cromwell — Her  dependent 
condition — Death  of  Cromwell — Question  of  Louis'  marriage — 
Charles  at  Fontarabia — And  at  Colombes — Royalist  chances — 
Reresby  at  court — Charles'  improving  prospects — The  Restora- 
tion—Henriette-Anne  and  the  Due  d'Orleans— The  Queen  and 
Mademoiselle 49  * 


CHAPTER    XXV 

1660 

The  Duke  of  York  and  Anne  Hyde — Arrival  ot  the  Princess  of 
Orange  in  London — Gloucester's  death — The  Queen's  coming — 
Henrietta  in  London — The  Duke  of  York  and  his  marriage — 
Henrietta's  melancholy— The  Princess  Royal's  death — The  Queen 
and  the  Chancellor  reconciled— The  Duke's  marriage  recognised 
— Henrietta's  departure 511 


viii  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER    XXVI 
1661 — 1665 


PAGE 


Henrietta's  return  to  France — The  Princess's  marriage — And  character 
— Her  mother's  anxieties — Charles'  marriage — Henrietta  in 
London — The  King's  affection — Changes  in  the  Queen — Bristol 
and  Clarendon — Deaths  in  the  royal  family — Henrietta's  house- 
hold— The  French  ambassadors — War  with  Holland — Failing 
health — Returns  to  France   .  528 


CHAPTER    XXVII 

1665 — 1669 

Latter  years — Detachment  from  life — Madame's  health — Influence 
on  politics — Louis  at  Colombes — Henrietta  remains  in  France  — 
England  and  France  —  Henrietta's  intervention  —  Clarendon's 
disgrace— Monmouth — Last  days — Death  and  burial    .         .         •     554 


Appendix  I. — Henrietta  Maria  and  Jermyn         .....     571 

Appendix  II. — Authorities  consulted 575 

Index 579 


LIST    OF    ILLUSTRATIONS 

VOL.    II 


QUEEN  HENRIETTA  MARIA  {Photogravure) Frontispiece 

Facing  page 

ANNE  OF  AUSTRIA,   QUEEN  OF  LOUIS  XIII 3*6 

From  a  contemporary  engraving. 

MOUNTJOY  BLOUNT,   EARL  OF  NEWPORT,   AND   GEORGE,   LORD  GORING   .  .      330 

From  the  picture  by  William  Dobson  in  the  National  Portrait  Gallery. 

PRINCE  RUPERT,   K.G 344 

After  the  picture  by  Sir  Peter  Lely  in  the  National  Portrait  Gallery. 

JAMES   II.    AS  DUKE  OF  YORK 378 

From  the  picture  by  Honthorst  at  Hampton  Court. 

LUCY  PERCY,   COUNTESS  OF  CARLISLE 38s 

After  the  picture  by  Van  Dyck. 

CHARLES  THE   FIRST 386 

After  the  picture  by  Van  Dyck  at  Dresden. 

SIR   THEODORE   MAYERNE 422 

From  a  drawing  by  Peter  Paul  Rubens,  in  the  British  Museum. 

JAMES   BUTLER,   FIRST   DUKE  OF   ORMOND,    K.G 42^ 

After  the  picture  by  Sir  Peter  Lely  in  the  National  Portrait  Gallery. 

JOHN   COSIN,    BISHOP   OF   DURHAM 43° 

By  permission  of  the  Bishop  of  Durham. 

JOHN  WILMOT,  EARL  OF  ROCHESTER 448 

After  the  picture  by  W.  Wissing  in  the  National  Portrait  Gallery. 

HENRY,    DUKE  OF  GLOUCESTER   (YOUNGEST   SON   OF  CHARLES   I.)      .  .  .      452 

From  the  picture  by  Van  Dyck  at  Windsor  Castle. 

ix 


x  LIST   OF   ILLUSTRATIONS 

Facing  page 

ANNE  HYDE,   DUCHESS  OF  YORK 512 

From  the  picture  by  Sir  Peter  Lely. 

CHARLOTTE  DE   LA  TREMOUILLE,    COUNTESS  OF   DERBY 518 

From  a  miniature. 

HENRIETTE,    DUCHESS  OF  ORLEANS 53O 

From  the  picture  by  Sir  Peter  Lely  at  Buckingham  Palace. 

HENRIETTE,    DUCHESS  OF  ORLEANS 558 

From  the  picture  by  Sir  Peter  Lely. 

JAMES  SCOTT,    DUKE  OF  MONMOUTH 562 

After  the  picture  in  the  collection  of  the  Duke  of  Buccleuch. 


HENRIETTA    MARIA 


CHAPTER    XV 
1644 


Henrietta  as  wife  and  mother — Her  reception  in  France — "La  grande 
Mademoiselle  " — Arrival  in  Paris — A  changed  court — Henrietta  in 
middle  age — Her  life  in  Paris — Jermyn — Newcastle — Letters  to 
the  King. 

WHEN  Henrietta  parted  from  Charles  at  Abingdon, 
and  when  she  fled  the  kingdom  after  the  birth 
of  her  child,  she  had  looked  forward,  should  her  life  be 
prolonged,  to  a  speedy  reunion.  Yet,  the  fact  that  she 
not  only  consented  to  put  the  Channel  between  herself 
and  her  husband  and  five  out  of  her  six  children,  but  was 
eager  to  do  so,  demands  explanation  ;  and  in  the  case 
of  a  woman  of  strong  affections  and  no  lack  of  courage 
the  explanation   is  not  at  once  forthcoming. 

It  must  be  remembered  in  her  defence  that  she  was 
in  a  condition  when  nerves  and  health  had  been  shattered 
by  a  prolonged  strain  of  physical  and  mental  suffering. 
Not  her  own  letters  alone  bear  witness  to  her  entire 
prostration.  Mayerne,  the  King's  physician,  gave  it  as 
his  opinion  that  "  her  days  would  not  be  many  "  ;  and  a 
Cornishman,  Sir  Francis  Barrett,  writing  to  his  wife  a  few 
days  before  she  set  sail  from  Falmouth,  describes  as  the 

VOL.    11.  3°7  T 


3o8  HENRIETTA    MARIA 

woefullest  spectacle  his  eyes  ever  yet  beheld  the  poor 
Queen,  "  the  most  worn  and  pitiful  creature  in  the  world, 
shifting  for  one  hour's  life  longer."  In  this  condition, 
apparently  complicated  by  hysteria,  a  woman  can  scarcely 
be  held  accountable  for  the  line  of  conduct  she  adopts. 
It  is  also  clear  that,  when  more  competent  to  form  a 
judgment,  she  considered  that  whilst  her  presence  in 
England  might  have  been  a  cause  of  danger  to  the 
King,  it  was  urgently  necessary  in  France,  in  order  that 
his  interests  should  be  forwarded  in  that  country. 

Yet,  when  all  is  said,  it  cannot  be  denied  that  her 
flight  put  her  at  a  disadvantage  as  a  wife  and  a  mother, 
and  afforded  their  opportunity  to  her  enemies.  There 
can,  nevertheless,  be  no  doubt  that  in  her  passionate 
devotion  to  the  King  she  never  faltered.  From  the  time 
when,  at  Buckingham's  death,  their  hearts  were  first  knit 
together,  her  love  for  Charles,  in  spite  of  petulance,  dis- 
approval and  impatience,  was  a  chief  motive  power  of  her 
lite.  Passage  after  passage  in  the  letters  belonging  to  this 
period  indicates  her  longing  to  be  with  him.  "  Though 
I  am  well  treated  here,"  she  writes  from  Paris,  "  that  will 
not  prevent  me  from  desiring  to  return  to  England. 
I  have  there  what  here  I  lack — that  is,  you;  and  I 
think  I  shall  never  recover  my  health  till  I  see  you 
again.  .  .  If  your  affairs  do  not  retain  me  here,  I  shall 
not  stay  long,  for  I  have  no  pleasure  in  things  of  this 
world."  Or  again,  a  month  or  two  later,  "  I  trust  that  in 
spring  I  shall  recover  my  health  entirely,  provided  that  I 
have  the  hope  of  seeing  you  soon  again  ;  for  without  that 
there  is  neither  medicine  nor  air  that  can  cure  me.  .  .  . 
Nothing  could  please  me  where  you  are  not."  "  I  thought 
the  air  of  France  would  cure  me,"  she  says  wistfully, 
"  but  a  little  of  that  of  England  is  needed  as  well."  It 
is  unnecessary  to  multiply  proofs  of  her  loyal  and  true 


HENRIETTA   AND    HER   CHILDREN     309 

affection,  nor  can  there  be  any  question  of  the  genuine- 
ness of  her  professions,  mingled  as  they  are  with  impatience 
and  blame.  The  absence  of  pose  or  pretence,  the  perfect 
naturalness  with  which  her  passing  moods  find  expression, 
are  amongst  Henrietta's  most  attractive  features. 

Turning  from  the  King  to  the  children  from  whom 
she  had  separated  herself,  it  is  a  somewhat  different  matter. 
It  is  impossible  to  resist  the  conviction  that  the  thought 
of  them,  if  not  the  love  for  them,  had  been  in  a  measure 
temporarily  crowded  out  by  the  stress  of  the  struggle. 
It  has  been  seen  how  limited  was  the  space  devoted  to 
them  in  the  letters  she  addressed  to  the  King  from 
Holland.  In  those  she  wrote  from  France  no  more  than 
occasional  references  to  her  second  son  occur.  Prince 
Charles'  movements  are  indeed  a  question  for  anxious 
consideration  ;  but  the  impression  is  conveyed  that  it 
was  rather  from  a  political  than  from  a  domestic  point 
of  view  that  she  regarded  them.  His  safety  was  not 
only  important  to  the  Royalist  cause,  but  had  a  distinct 
bearing  upon  that  of  the  King.  "  I  need  not  re- 
member you,"  she  wrote  to  Hyde  in  April,  1646,  "of 
what  importance  to  the  King  and  all  his  party  the 
safety  of  the  Prince's  person  is  "  ;  and  upon  her  son 
himself  she  urged  his  immediate  journey  to  Paris,  "  for 
certain  your  coming  hither  is  the  security  of  the  King 
your  father."  It  was  primarily  as  the  King  was  affected 
by  his  movements,  and  in  a  secondary  degree  for  his 
own  sake,  that  she  urged  upon  Charles  the  necessity 
of  seeking  a  place  of  safety. 

In  the  letter  of  doubtful  authenticity  quoted  in  the 
last  chapter  the  writer  dwells,  after  a  fashion  natural 
in  one  setting  himself  to  fill  in  from  imagination 
the  anxieties  of  a  mother,  upon  the  position  of  the 
little   daughter    in    the    hands    of  the    Parliament,   "  the 


310  HENRIETTA    MARIA 

unfortunate  Elizabeth."  "  Oh,  if  before  my  death,"  the 
Queen  is  made  to  exclaim,  "  I  could  see  her  out  of  the 
hands  of  the  traitors,  I  could  die  content,"  enjoining 
on  the  elder  brother  the  duty  of  doing  his  utmost  to 
withdraw  "  so  dear  a  part  of  my  own  heart,  this  innocent 
victim  of  their  fury,  your  worthy  sister,  from  London." 

The  outburst  has,  in  its  magniloquence,  no  resemblance 
to  Henrietta's  modes  of  expression,  and  it  fails  to  strike 
the  reader  as  genuine.  There  is  nothing  of  a  similar 
character  to  be  found  in  the  letters  she  addressed  to 
the  King,  and  it  is  fair  to  conclude  that  other  anxieties 
had,  for  the  time,  taken  precedence  of  care  for  her 
children. 

It  was  near  Brest  that  Henrietta's  landing  in  France 
had  been  effected  ;  and  before  proceeding  further  she 
sent  messengers  to  Paris  to  announce  her  arrival  to  her 
sister-in-law,  the  Queen-Regent,  and  to  beg  that 
physicians  should  be  despatched   to  meet  her. 

Anne  of  Austria  v/as  wanting  neither  in  generosity 
nor  kindness.  The  forlorn  condition  of  the  fugitive 
may  well  have  appealed  to  her  compassion,  and  she  sent 
not  only  the  doctors  Henrietta  desired,  but  two  special 
envoys,  to  greet  the  involuntary  guest  and  supply  her 
needs.  For  the  sake  of  her  father  Henrietta  was  dear 
to  the  French  people,  and  crowds  added  their  spontaneous 
welcome  to  that  of  the  Regent's  deputies.  "  I  have 
been  everywhere  received,"  the  Queen  wrote  to  Charles, 
"  with  such  honour  and  affection  by  all,  from  the  greatest 
to  the  least,  as  could  not  have  been  imagined.  I  think 
you  will  be  very  glad  of  it." 

Anne  of  Austria's  kindness  quickly  took  practical 
shape  ;  and  Jermyn,  having  proceeded  to  the  capital, 
returned  with  a  large  present  in  cash,  and  the  promise 
of  30,000  livres  a  month,   to  be  paid  to  his  mistress  as 


HER    RECEPTION   IN    FRANCE  311 

a  daughter  of  France.  She  was  by  this  time  on  her 
way  to  Bourbon,  and  was  able,  before  the  middle  of 
August,  to  report  herself  from  Amboise  as  better  in 
health  and  hoping  for  still  greater  relief  from  the 
waters.  On  August  18th  she  arrived  at  Tours,  where, 
according  to  Evelyn,  she  was  "  very  nobly  received  by 
the  people  and  clergy,"  who  went  to  meet  her  with  the 
trained  bands,  the  Archbishop  entertaining  her  at  his 
palace. 

The  reception  she  was  accorded  in  her  native  country 
had  not  commended  itself  to  her  enemies  in  England, 
from  whence  her  movements  were  watched  with  a  jealous 
eye  by  the  Parliamentary  party.  "  The  Queen,"  says  a 
contemporary  chronicle,  "  as  it  is  certified  by  letters 
from  Paris,  hath  not  been  in  that  city,  but  passing 
by  it.  Prince  d'Harcourt  and  two  doctors  were  also 
sent  out  of  Paris  to  meet  her,  and  to  go  along  with 
her  to  the  King's  house  by  the  Bourbon  waters,  whither 
with  them  she  will  drink  of  those  waters.  But  will 
the  Bourbon  waters  cure  her  ?  There  are  other  waters 
set  open  for  her  to  drink,  in  the  Protestant  Church, 
the  waters  of  repentance,  the  waters  of  the  gospel  to 
wash  her  from  Popery.  Oh,  that  she  would  wash  in 
those  waters  and  be  clean  !  ' 

Henrietta  passed  some  three  months  at  Bourbon, 
arriving  there  in  so  crippled  a  condition  that  she  could 
not  walk  without  being  supported  on  either  side,  and 
so  weakened  in  nerves  that  she  was  almost  always  in 
tears.  Before  the  conclusion  of  her  treatment  she  was 
able  to  report  a  certain  amount  of  improvement — "  I 
begin  to  hope  I  shall  not  die " — and  to  look  forward 
to  attaining  a  measure  of  health  which  should  fit  her 
to  labour  again  in  the  royal  cause.  Before  leaving 
Bourbon    she    received    a    visit    from    the    first    member 


312  HENRIETTA    MARIA 

of  her  family,  save  her  mother,  whom  she  had  seen 
since  she  left  France.  This  was  Gaston,  the  Due 
d'Orleans,  commonly  called  Monsieur,  though  the  title 
belonged  of  right  to  his  little  nephew,  Philippe  d'Anjou, 
the  boy-King's  brother.  The  next  to  Henrietta  in 
point  of  age,  it  must  have  been  a  strange  and  melan- 
choly meeting  for  the  two  who  had  parted  as  boy 
and  girl.  Monsieur  had  been  twice  married  in  the 
interval,  and  his  daughter  by  his  first  wife,  Mademoiselle 
de  Montpensier  ("  La  grande  Mademoiselle  "  of  history), 
was  already,  in  spite  of  her  youth — she  was  no  more 
than  seventeen — fully  awake  to  the  importance  of  her 
position,  not  as  granddaughter  of  a  king  alone  but  as 
one  of  the  greatest  heiresses  of  Europe. 

When  the  time  came  for  Henrietta  to  leave  Bourbon 
she  passed  some  weeks  at  Nevers,  on  her  way  to  Paris, 
receiving  there  news  of  the  King's  successes  in  Cornwall, 
and  sending  him  a  letter  of  joyful  congratulation.  It 
was  during  her  stay  at  the  provincial  town  that  the 
tragic  farce  took  place,  when  little  Geoffrey  Hudson, 
the  dwarf — in  spite  of  his  mistress's  favour  the  butt 
of  the  royal  household — challenged  one  Crofts,  also 
belonging  to  her  retinue,  to  single  combat,  and  upon 
his  adversary  appearing  armed  with  a  squirt,  shot  him 
dead. 

Henrietta  must  have  been  impatient  to  find  herself 
at  Paris,  there  to  press  upon  the  authorities  Charles' 
necessities  ;  and  the  Regent  was  determined  to  leave 
none  of  the  honours  befitting  her  rank  unpaid.  Made- 
moiselle de  Montpensier  was  accordingly  despatched  in 
a  royal  carriage  to  meet  her  aunt  and  bring  her  on  her 
way.  In  point  of  position  the  Queen's  niece  was  doubt- 
less the  proper  person  to  be  selected  for  the  purpose  ; 
yet  one  is  inclined  to  indulge  in  a  speculation    whether 


RECEPTION   BY   QUEEN    REGENT       313 

Henrietta  may  not  have  failed  to  find  her  brother's 
daughter — the  spoilt  child,  as  she  herself  had  once  been, 
of  the  French  court — wholly  sympathetic.  There  is 
something  hard  and  uncompromising  in  the  younger 
woman's  account  of  the  fallen  Queen,  suggesting  that 
the  pity  she  professes  was  not  untouched  with  con- 
tempt. Though  her  aunt  had  taken  all  the  pains  she 
could  to  recover  health  and  strength,  observes  Made- 
moiselle, recording  her  first  impressions,  so  deplorable 
was  her  condition  as  to  inspire  compassion  in  those 
who  saw  her.  The  Due  d'Orleans  had  been  Henrietta's 
travelling  companion,  and  the  fugitive  was  conducted 
by  father  and  daughter  to  the  outskirts  of  the  capital, 
where  she  was  met  and  welcomed  near  Montrouge  by 
the  Regent,  her  two  little  sons,  and  the  court.  On 
meeting  her  the  King  and  Queen  left  their  carriage, 
and  dismounting  upon  a  great  carpet  spread  upon  the 
ground,  greeted  the  fugitive  with  cordiality  and  affection ; 
after  which  they  entered  the  royal  coach  with  her,  and 
all  returned  to   Paris  together. 

The  Cardinal  had  been  absent  on  this  first  occasion  ; 
but  Henrietta  received  a  visit  from  him  on  the  following 
day,  when  she  made  profession  of  her  interest  in  what 
concerned  him  and  doubtless  did  what  she  could  to 
enlist  on  behalf  of  the  cause  she  represented  the  sympathy 
of  the  powerful  minister.  Apartments  in  the  Louvre 
were  assigned  to  the  Queen,  and  on  the  day  after  her 
arrival  she  was  installed  in  the  palace  with  the  honours 
due  to  a  queen  and  a  daughter  of  France.  Here,  with 
the  exception  of  intervals  spent  at  Saint-Germain-en-Laye, 
she  passed  most  of  her  time  until  her  removal,  in  1652, 
to   the  Palais  Royal. 

A  month  before  Henrietta's  arrival  in  Paris,  the  death 
of  her  eldest  sister,  the  Queen  of  Spain,  had  taken  place. 


3 14  HENRIETTA   MARIA 

The  public  announcement  of  the  event  was  postponed 
until  after  her  entry  into  the  capital— in  order  presumably 
that  court  mourning  should  not  interfere  with  the 
welcome  to  be  accorded  to  the  guest.  In  those  days 
news  travelled  slowly,  and  it  is  possible  that  the  Queen 
was  ignorant  of  a  loss  appealing  rather  to  the  imagination 
than  to  the  practical  affections.  The  funeral  service 
held  at  Notre  Dame  in  commemoration  of  an  almost 
unknown  sister,  at  which  Henrietta  was  not  present, 
was  signalised  by  a  hot  dispute  between  Mademoiselle 
and  the  Condes  concerning  questions  of  precedence.  The 
affair  was  characteristic  of  the  atmosphere  of  petty  rivalry 
into  which  the  fugitive  Queen,  fresh  from  her  own  great 
sorrows  and  oppressed  by  anxiety,  was  to  be  plunged. 
Confronted  as  she  had  been  with  the  realities  of  life,  the 
desperate  contention  over  the  trivialities  of  court  etiquette 
must  have  presented  a  vivid  contrast  to  the  struggle 
for  life  or  for  death,  and  for  the  very  existence  of  the 
monarchy,  going  forward  across  the  Channel.  But  of 
what  she  thought  of  it  no  record  remains.  Many  other 
things  must  likewise  have  seemed  strange  to  the  "  reine 
malheureuse  "  on  her  return  to  the  scenes  in  which  her 
childhood  had  been  passed.  So  large  a  portion  of 
Henrietta's  life  was  to  be  spent  in  those  familiar 
surroundings,  that  it  is  not  irrelevant  to  linger  for  a 
moment  over  the  frame  supplying  the  future  setting  to 
her  figure. 

The  change  both  in  the  spirit  of  the  court  and  in 
those  who  filled  the  stage  must  have  gone  far  to  render 
them  unrecognisable.  She  had  left  her  brother  king  ; 
her  mother,  if  no  longer  predominant  in  his  councils, 
had  exercised  an  influence  not  yet  destroyed  by  that  of 
the  man  who,  raised  to  power  by  her  means,  was  to 
prove    her    relentless    enemy.     Anne  of  Austria,  as   the 


THE    FRENCH    COURT  315 

King's  unloved  and  childless  wife,  had  been  of  small 
account  at  her  husband's  court,  and  had  been  the  object 
of  Henrietta's  own  childish  malice,  finding  its  support  and 
encouragement  in  the  Queen-Mother's  hostility  to  her 
daughter-in-law. 

All  was  now  different.  Louis  XIII.,  with  Marie  de 
Medicis,  was  dead  ;  and  his  widow,  with  the  prospect  of 
filling  the  office  of  regent  during  a  long  minority,  had 
become  the  most  conspicuous  figure  at  court.  With  rare 
generosity  she  had  forgotten  in  her  prosperity  the  slights 
she  had  once  suffered  at  Henrietta's  hands,  and  had 
shown  every  disposition  to  befriend  her.  But  if  she 
was  the  nominal  ruler,  another  and  a  less  kindly  power 
was  paramount  in  the  State.  Inferior  to  Richelieu  in 
intellect  and  calibre  as  his  successor  at  the  helm  might 
be,  the  influence  exercised  by  Mazarin  over  the  Queen 
was  such  as  to  render  his  will  scarcely  less  dominant  than 
that  of  the  great  dead  Cardinal  in  the  past.  He  had 
gradually  succeeded  in  removing  from  about  the  Regent 
every  person  in  whom  he  had  discerned  an  obstacle  to  his 
own  ambition,  replacing  them  by  those  upon  whom  he 
could  count  to  make  no  attempt  to  dispute  his  sway  ; 
and  Henrietta,  as  she  learnt  to  understand  the  politics  of 
the  court,  must  have  felt  that  it  was  through  the  minister 
alone  that  the  practical  assistance  she  craved  could  be 
obtained.  In  the  first  instance,  such  a  conviction  would 
have  caused  her  but  little  disquiet,  for  the  Cardinal  was 
fair  in  his  professions  ;  but  as  time  went  on  she  had  cause 
to  regret  the  ascendency  he  exercised  in  the  councils  of 
the  State. 

Turning  from  political  to  social  affairs,  the  change 
was  scarcely  less  marked.  Twenty  years  earlier,  when 
the  court  had  been  coloured  and  pervaded  by  the 
traditions  belonging  to  the  reign   of   Henri-Quatre.  "la 


3i6  HENRIETTA    MARIA 

civilite  et  le  respect  etoient  en  regne  pour  les  dames," 
observes  Madame  de  Motteville  regretfully — a  civility 
and  respect  enjoyed  to  the  full  by  the  youngest  daughter 
of  France.  But  all  was  altered.  The  light-hearted 
merriment  of  the  days  when  even  Anne  of  Austria, 
always  inclined  by  nature  to  take  a  serious  view  of 
life,  was  learning  from  Madame  de  Chevreuse  to  ap- 
preciate mundane  delights,  had  been  supplanted  by  a 
gravity  and  decorum  reflecting  the  present  attitude  of 
the  Regent,  no  longer  young,  a  widow  and  fully  conscious 
of  the  responsibilities  of  her  position.  The  influence  of 
the  late  King  Louis  XIII.,  as  well  as  of  the  Cardinal, 
was  perceptible  in  the  manner  now  adopted  towards  women, 
"  men  holding  it  almost  a  shame  to  show  them  any 
courtesy."  Such  being  the  spirit  of  the  reconstituted  society 
of  Paris,  there  can  have  been  little  to  remind  Henrietta 
of  her  childish  days.  Madame  de  Chevreuse,  who  might 
have  furnished  a  link  with  the  past,  was  absent  from  the 
court.  Recalled  from  exile  by  the  Regent  on  her  ac- 
cession to  power,  the  Duchess  had  triumphantly  boasted 
of  her  future  influence,  adding  a  promise  to  employ  it 
in  favour  of  the  country  where  she  had  found  a  refuge 
and  a  welcome  during  the  period  of  her  disgrace.  The 
renewal  of  intercourse  between  the  old  friends  had  not, 
however,  been  attended  with  success.  Time  and  mis- 
fortune had  left  Madame  de  Chevreuse  much  as  they 
had  found  her,  whilst  Anne  had  acquired  the  seriousness 
lacking  in  her  former  comrade.  The  counsels  she  be- 
stowed upon  the  veteran  intriguer,  to  the  efFect  that  she 
should  abstain  from  her  old  pastimes,  lead  a  quiet  life, 
and  enjoy  the  peace  and  repose  placed  within  her  reach, 
were  not  received  by  the  Duchess  in  good  part.  It 
might  be  only  too  true,  as  Anne  represented  to  her,  that 
it  was  time  to  "take  pleasure  in  retirement  and  to  regulate 


From  (i  conlcmpnrnry  »n'fii;™» 

ANNE  OF  AUSTRIA,    QUEEN    OF    LOUIS  XIII. 


HENRIETTA   IN    MIDDLE   AGE  317 

life  upon  thoughts  of  the  other  world,"  but  it  is  pro- 
verbially a  difficult  matter  to  beat  swords  into  plough- 
shares. It  became  quickly  evident  that  Madame  de 
Chevreuse's  residence  at  court  would  in  no  wise  conduce 
to  its  peace  ;  and  the  experiment  of  a  resuscitated  friend- 
ship ended  with  the  recommendation  on  the  part  of  the 
Regent  that  the  Duchess  should  withdraw   elsewhere. 

She  was,  therefore,  practically  in  disgrace  when  Henri- 
etta reached  France  ;  and  though  to  a  request  preferred 
by  the  latter,  to  be  permitted  to  invite  the  Duchess 
to  Bourbon,  Anne  had  replied  that  her  sister-in-law  was 
at  liberty  to  indulge  a  natural  inclination,  it  was  privately 
intimated  to  her  that  the  Regent  would  take  it  amiss  if 
she  acted  upon  the  permission,  and  she  wisely  abstained 
from  doing  so.  Bassompierre,  her  father's  friend  and  her 
own  good  counseller  in  her  early  days  of  marriage,  died 
shortly  after  her  arrival,  having  outlived  his  popularity 
and  being  regretted  by  few.  The  men  of  the  day  had 
grown  impatient  of  the  survival  of  the  representatives  of 
past  traditions.  Inordinate  ambition  and  love  of  money 
had  supplanted  the  lighter  follies  of  an  earlier  generation. 

If  Henrietta,  looking  around  her,  will  have  been 
acutely  aware  of  the  changes  she  saw,  she  must  have  been 
also  conscious,  more  painfully,  of  the  alteration  in  herself 
wrought  by  time  and  sorrow  and  care.  She  was  accus- 
tomed, Madame  de  Motteville  observes,  to  maintain 
that  the  beauty  of  a  woman  is  inevitably  lost  with  her 
twenty-second  year  ;  nor  is  the  further  suggestion  that 
the  judgment  might  have  been  a  generalisation  from 
personal  experience  too  far-fetched.  She  had  scarcely 
reached  middle  age  at  the  time  of  her  flight  from 
Exeter  ;  yet  it  is  plain  that  her  beauty  was  a  thing  of 
the  past.  Her  friend  sorrowfully  admitted  that  few 
traces  of  it  remained.      Her  eyes  were  still  beautiful,  her 


3i8  HENRIETTA    MARIA 

complexion  good  ;  but  she  was  thin  and  wasted,  her 
figure  spoilt,  whilst  the  emaciation  of  her  face  rendered 
the  mouth  disproportionately  large. 

But  if  Henrietta's  beauty  was  gone,  she  retained, 
though  worn  by  suffering  and  grief,  more  lasting  attrac- 
tions than  those  due  to  colour  and  form.  There  was 
a  charm  about  her  winning  love  from  all  with  whom 
she  was  not  brought  into  collision,  a  brilliant  wit,  and 
a  remains  of  the  brightness  characterising  her  when, 
in  her  earlier  happy  days,  she  had  been  the  central 
figure  at  Whitehall.  Living  on  familiar  terms  with 
those  around  her,  she  took  her  share  in  daily  life,  so 
naturally  inclined  to  gaiety  that,  in  the  midst  of  her 
tears,  she  could  be  moved  to  laughter  when  occasion 
offered.  Such  was  Henrietta  when,  at  thirty-five,  she 
came  to  take  her  place  in  the  atmosphere  of  intrigue, 
of  cabal  and  of  petty  jealousy  in  which  her  lot  was 
to  be  cast. 

When  she  first  took  up  her  residence  at  the  Louvre 
it  was  as  a  queen.  Then,  and  for  some  months  after- 
wards, she  kept  up  the  semblance  of  a  court,  with  its 
officials,  its  ladies-in-waiting,  maids-of-honour,  guards, 
footmen,  coaches.  But  little  by  little  her  expenses  were 
curtailed,  in  order  that  all  available  money  should  be  sent 
to  England,  "so  that  shortly  afterwards,"  says  her  niece, 
"  nothing  could  be  further  from  her  dignity  than  her 
train  and  her  manner  of  life."  Again  one  suspects  in  the 
description  a  touch  of  contempt.  Mademoiselle,  at  this 
time,  was  the  last  person  to  consider  the  world  well 
lost  for  love  or  for  any  of  those  intangible  goods  not 
to  be  expressed  either  in  pounds,  shillings  and  pence 
or  in  consideration  ;  and  the  ultimate  result  of  the 
struggle  in  England  may  have  seemed  to  her  too  doubt- 
ful to  justify  the  sacrifice  of  a  proper  establishment   in 


LIFE    IN    PARIS  319 

Paris.  To  Henrietta,  conscious  of  the  eyes  of  the  court 
upon  her,  hostile,  indifferent,  or  compassionate,  it  may 
have  cost  something  to  set  public  opinion  at  defiance. 
She  cannot,  however,  have  had  much  attention  to  spare 
for  the  opinions  of  her  critics. 

During  the  years  preceding  that  January  day  when 
the  final  scene  at  Whitehall  took  place,  she  must  have 
lived  a  singularly  dual  life.  On  the  one  hand  she  will 
have  taken  part  in  all  that  was  going  forward  in  Paris  ; 
will  have  watched,  with  the  added  interest  due  to  a 
kindred  experience,  the  disputes  between  court  and 
Parliament  ;  and  will  have  thrown  herself  keenly  into 
the  incidents  of  every  day.  Henrietta  had  neither  the 
loftiness  of  mind  to  despise  the  trivialities  of  ordinary 
occurrence  nor  the  insincerity  to  feign  an  indifference  she 
did  not  feel.  Yet  who  can  question  that  all  the  while, 
ever  present,  beyond  and  behind  the  scenes  actually 
before  her  eyes,  must  have  been  the  sombre  background 
furnished  by  the  tragedy  drawing  towards  its  close  on 
the  other  side  of  the  narrow  seas  :  the  constant,  wearing 
anxiety  ;  the  alternations  of  hope  and  fear  ;  the  struggle 
to  obtain  the  wherewithal  to  carry  on  a  losing  fight  ; 
the  perpetual  watch  for  the  messengers  who,  fitfully  and 
as  opportunity  offered,  came  bearing  letters  from  the 
King, — letters  manly,  tender  and  devoted,  and  for  the 
most  part  uncomplaining  ;  yet  with  sentences  here  and 
there  wrung  from  him  in  his  loneliness  and  desolation, 
and  striking  a  note  of  poignant  appeal  for  sympathy 
and  comfort  that  must  have  gone  far  to  deafen  the 
ears  of  the  woman  who  loved  him  to  all  other  sounds. 
To  understand  Henrietta,  perhaps  to  make  allowances 
for  her,  the  constant  strain  of  those  years,  dating  from 
the  autumn  of  1644,  must  be  borne  in  mind. 

Before   concluding  a   general    survey   of  this  section 


320  HENRIETTA    MARIA 

of  her  history  one  subject  should  not  be  ignored.  The 
slanders  linking  her  name  with  Henry  Jermyn's  have 
been  already  noticed.  They  have  been  too  often  repeated 
to  be  cursorily  dismissed.  The  relationship  between 
Henrietta  and  the  man  who,  whatever  his  faults,  had 
been  her  loyal  and  faithful  servant,  in  prosperity  and 
adversity,  for  close  upon  twenty  years,  was  one  easily 
misconstrued  or  misrepresented  by  those  eager  to  blacken 
her  reputation.  Attached  to  her  service  soon  after 
her  arrival  in  England,  he  had  attended  her  ever  since, 
and,  in  her  present  reduced  establishment,  united  in 
his  own  person  many  posts.  He  supervised  her  house- 
hold, controlled  her  expenditure,  and  managed  her 
finances.  He  likewise  acted  as  her  secretary,  putting  her 
letters  to  the  King  into  cipher  at  such  times  as  health 
and  strength  did  not  admit  of  her  performing  personally 
the  arduous  task.  He  was,  in  fact,  the  confidential  servant 
of  husband  and  wife,  and  constant  references  to  him  in 
the  King's  letters  indicate  entire  trust.  "  Tell  Jermyn," 
he  once  writes,  "  that  I  will  make  him  know  the  eminent 
service  he  hath  done  me  ...  as  soon  as  it  shall  please 
God  to  enable  me  to  reward  honest  men."  But  if  to 
Charles  he  was  a  valued  and  faithful  servant,  to  Henrietta 
he  was  more  ;  and  when  she  found  herself  alone,  a 
stranger  amongst  strangers  in  the  land  of  her  birth,  she 
will  have  turned  to  him  with  the  relief  afforded  by  the 
sight  of  a  familiar  face  where  all  else  is  new  and  un- 
accustomed. Those  of  her  own  blood  and  race,  by 
whom  she  was  surrounded,  might  treat  her  with  kind- 
ness and  affection  ;  but  it  would  not  have  been  possible 
for  her  to  forget,  during  the  mournful  years  when  life 
itself  hung  in  the  balance,  that  they  were  affected  by  the 
doom  darkening  over  the  country  of  her  adoption  in 
no    other    way    than    as    lookers-on    are    affected    by    a 


HENRY    JERMYN  321 

coming  catastrophe  in  no  wise  touching  their  fortunes. 
Jermyn's  interests,  on  the  contrary,  though  differing 
in  degree  and  intensity,  were  identical  with  her  own. 
He,  like  herself,  was  watching  the  issue  of  events 
with  the  genuine  and  personal  anxiety  to  be  counter- 
feited neither  by  courtesy  nor  by  sympathy.  Under 
these  circumstances  it  may  be  that  he  acquired  a  hold 
over  his  mistress  disproportionate  to  his  merits  and  his 
deserts.  By  the  sequel  this  is  indeed  rendered  certain. 
But  whilst  so  much  may  be  freely  granted,  it  must  be 
remembered  that,  save  in  the  venomous  accusations  of 
her  enemies,  there  is  nowhere  apparent  a  trace  of  any 
sentiment  on  her  part  other  than  that  called  forth  by 
the  affection  and  service  of  a  loyal  friend.  Prudent 
Henrietta  had  never  been  ;  but  it  would  be  difficult, 
reading  her  letters  at  this  period,  to  admit  the  possibility 
of  her  having  failed  by  so  much  as  a  thought  in  her 
faith   to  the  King. 

Of  Jermyn  as  he  appeared  in  these  days  Madame 
de  Motteville  gives  an  account.  The  Queen's  favourite, 
as  she  terms  him,  was  in  her  opinion  a  sufficiently 
honest  man,  limited  in  capacity,  fitter  for  small  than 
for  great  things,  yet  faithful.  She  goes  on  to  add  that, 
though  placing  overmuch  confidence  in  him,  Henrietta 
was  not  ruled  by  him  completely,  but  remained  her 
own  mistress,  carrying  out  her  will  in  spite  of  Lord 
Jermyn,  as  she  carried  it  out  in  spite  of  other  advisers — 
a  condition  of  things  presenting,  it  may  be  observed, 
a  marked  contrast  to  the  subservience  of  the  Queen- 
Regent  to   her  minister. 

If  Henrietta  was  well  served,  she  deserved  it.  She 
was  a  staunch  friend,  and  a  letter,  written  soon  after  her 
arrival  in  Paris  to  the  Marquis  of  Newcastle,  shows 
a  spirit   or    generosity  calculated   to  attach   men  to    her 


322  HENRIETTA    MARIA 

service.  In  July,  immediately  after  the  defeat  of  Mar- 
ston  Moor,  Newcastle  had  thrown  up  his  command  and 
quitted  the  country.  On  the  face  of  it,  the  act  was 
an  abandonment  of  the  royal  cause,  nor  were  those 
wanting  who  taxed  him  with  treason.  He  had  served  the 
King  well  ;  his  courage  was  unquestionable,  and  his 
loyalty  had  never  faltered.  But  he  was  a  courtier  rather 
than  a  soldier  ;  and,  conspicuously  gallant  in  action,  he 
had  nothing  but  dislike  for  the  dull  routine  of  a  cam- 
paign. Jealous,  besides,  of  Rupert's  interference,  and 
"  utterly  wearied,"  says  Clarendon,  "  with  a  condition 
and  employment  so  contrary  to  his  humour,  nature,  and 
education,"  he  acted  upon  the  impulse  of  the  moment 
and  left  his  post.  It  would  have  been  easy  to  brand 
him  as  a  deserter  ;  but  no  trace  of  a  like  charge  appears 
in  the  Queen's  letter.  That  he  had  been  unfortunate  was 
in  itself  sufficient  to  range  her  upon  his  side,  and  a 
reason  that  she  should  hasten  to  make  known  to  him  her 
undiminished  confidence.  Already,  at  Bourbon,  she  had 
received  and  answered  a  letter  from  the  Marquis,  and 
in  November  she  wrote  again  from  Paris,  "  to  assure  you 
of  the  continuance  of  my  esteem,  not  being  so  unjust  as 
to  forget  past  services  upon  a  present  misfortune.  And 
therefore  believe  that  I  shall  always  continue  to  give 
proof  of  what  I  say,  letting  me  know  wherein  I  may 
be  of  use  to  you,  when  you  shall  see  how  I  shall  act, 
and  with  what  truth  I  am  your  very  good  and  affec- 
tionate friend,  Henrietta  Maria  R." 

It  will  presently  be  seen  that  the  Queen's  confidence 
was  not  misplaced.  Meantime,  she  was  recovering  from 
the  shattered  condition  of  nerves  in  which  she  had 
reached  France  ;  and  her  first  letter  to  Charles  after  her 
arrival  in  Paris  indicates  an  improvement  in  health  and 
spirits.      It  may  be  that  the  little  triumph  of  the  royal 


IN    PARIS 


323 


reception  accorded  to  her  had  raised  her  hopes  of  assist- 
ance ;  and  though  an  English  newspaper,  describing  her 
entry  and  the  honours  she  had  received,  speaks  of  her 
as  "  like  one  in  a  deep  consumption,"  she  had  evidently 
regained  her  courage,  and,  though  admitting  that  her 
health  is  not  yet  "quite  good,"  expresses  her  anticipa- 
tions of  complete  recovery.  Passing  on  to  practical 
affairs,  she  informed  the  King  that  Mazarin  had  been  sick 
but  that  Jermyn  was  to  visit  him  on  the  following  day, 
and  was  confident  that  powder,  arms,  and  money  would 
be  at  once  forthcoming.  "  There  is  nothing  so  certain," 
she  adds,  "  as  that  I  do  take  all  pains  I  can  imaginable 
to  procure  you  assistance,  and  am  incapable  of  taking 
any  delight  or  being  pleased  with  being  here — though 
I  have  all  kinds  of  contentments — but  as  I  hope  it  may 
enable  me  to  send  you  help.  ...  I  know  not  what  need 
you  may  have,  nor  can  say  what  will  here  be  had,  only 
this  be  assured  of — there  is  not,  nor  shall  be  ever,  any 
diligence  omitted,  nor  delight  admitted  from  any  earthly 
thing,  but  the  serving  to  the  supplies  of  your  wants  ; 
assure  yourself  of  this." 

A  few  days  later  she  begs  him  not  to  believe  that 
she  is  to  blame  if  letters  do  not  reach  him  oftener,  "  for 
it  is  a  punishment  severe  enough  to  me  not  to  be  able 
to  write,  which  is  the  greatest  satisfaction  I  now  have." 

Money  was  at  present  the  one  thing  needful,  and 
the  different  means  of  raising  it  are  constantly  detailed 
in  the  business  communications  sent  by  Jermyn  in 
the  Queen's  name,  or  as  her  secretary.  Mazarin  was 
profuse  in  the  matter  of  promises — promises  costing 
nothing  ;  and  at  this  early  stage,  Henrietta,  letting 
her  hopes  colour  her  anticipations,  seems  to  have  believed 
she  had  found  a  good  friend  in  the  Cardinal.  He  had 
used  her  marvellously  well  ;   had  suggested  an  application 

vol.    11.  2 


324  HENRIETTA    MARIA 

for  troops  to  the  Duke  of  Lorraine,  France  under- 
taking the  payment  of  the  army  to  be  sent  ;  an  appeal 
to  the  French  clergy  was  to  be  permitted  ;  and  Charles 
must  be  careful  to  use  great  civility  in  addressing  the 
all-powerful  minister.  <c  You  must  call  him  '  My  cousin,' 
and  at  the  bottom  '  Your  affectionate  cousin.' '  Both 
Queen  and  Cardinal  had  testified  the  greatest  affection 
for  Charles,  and  all  promised  well. 

On  the  whole,  affairs  appeared  in  a  not  unhopeful 
condition  when  first  Henrietta  took  up  her  work  in 
Paris.  It  was,  nevertheless,  necessarily  attended  with 
difficulties,  and  towards  the  end  of  December  insufficient 
information  from  England  was  furnishing  her  with  a 
special  grievance.  Few  letters  had  been  received  from 
Charles,  and  besides  her  own  consequent  anxiety,  any 
neglect  displayed  towards  her  would  prejudice  her  efforts 
on  his  behalf.  "  When  they  see  that  I  am  so  ignorant  of 
what  is  doing  in  England,  it  makes  them  think  that  there 
is  no  desire  for  me  to  know  it."  Although  adding  that 
she  herself  is  too  well  satisfied  with  the  love  borne  her 
by  Charles — as,  indeed,  she  might  be — to  indulge  these 
fancies,  it  is  evident  that  she  was  sore  at  her  lack  of 
direct  information.  The  King,  for  his  part,  brushed 
the  idea  of  deliberate  concealment  aside  with  a  touch  of 
impatience.  "  It  is  such  a  folly,"  he  wrote,  "  that  I  shall 
not  believe  that  any  can  think  it,  though  he  say  it." 

Thus  the  year  1644,  so  sorrowfully  eventful  for  the 
Queen,  drew  to  an  end,  not  without  a  promise  of  better 
things.  Though  the  royal  successes  in  the  west  had  been 
followed  by  the  defeat  at  the  second  battle  of  Newbury, 
Charles  had  been  permitted  to  regain  Oxford.  At  Paris 
the  Parliamentary  agent  had  received  orders  to  leave  the 
kingdom,  and,  to  crown  all,  the  Queen  and  the  Cardinal 
are  u  so  kind  that  they  could   not  be  more  so." 


IN    PARIS  325 

And  yet,  in  spite  of  all — of  work,  of  endeavour,  of 
kindness  received  and  help  promised — the  bitterness  of 
absence  and  the  stress  of  anxiety  finds  expression.  "  You 
should  take  more  care  of  yourself.  You  risk  yourself 
too  much.  That  makes  me  die  when  I  hear  of  it.  .  .  . 
If  not  for  love  of  yourself,  for  love  of  me,  preserve 
yourself."  And  again,  "Let  me  have  news  of  you  as 
often  as  possible,  since  I  have  no  joy  in  the  world  but 
that." 


CHAPTER    XVI 

1645 — 1646 

The  King  at  Oxford — Henrietta  at  work  in  Paris — Her  court — The  Nuncio 
at  Paris — Percy  and  Wilmot — Marriage  projects  for  the  Prince  of  Wales 
— The  King's  letters — Henrietta's  illness — Naseby — The  King's  policy 
and  character — Hopes  of  help  from  Rome — Surrender  of  Bristol — 
Charles'  correspondence. 

WHEN  the  year  opened  the  King  was  at  Oxford. 
Negotiations  were  proceeding  at  Uxbridge  be- 
tween the  Royalist  and  Parliamentary  parties,  and  the 
secret  intrigues  with  the  Irish  Catholics  which,  chiefly 
conducted  through  Glamorgan,  had  been  carried  on  for 
several  months,  were  in  full  progress. 

Up  to  the  present  time  Charles  had  kept  his  son 
with  him  ;  but  the  precarious  condition  of  his  affairs 
drove  him  early  in  the  year  to  the  conclusion  that  it 
would  be  well  that  they  should  separate,  so  that,  should 
evil  fortune  overtake  him,  his  heir  would  not  be  in- 
volved in  the  disaster.  In  March,  therefore,  he  sent 
the  Prince  to  take  up  a  position  in  the  west,  where  his 
presence  formed  a  second  centre  for  the  same  rivalries 
and  jealousies  rife  at  the  King's  own  court. 

A  council  of  trusted  servants  of  the  Crown  accom- 
panied the  boy,  Lord  Berkshire  attending  him  as 
governor.  His  nomination  to  this  office  had  been  one 
of  the  unfortunate  arrangements  made  at  the  time  of  the 
Queen's  visit  to  Oxford ;  and  the  choice  of  a  man  whose 
incapacity  to  fill  the  post  with  credit  was  an  open  secret 

326 


HOPES   FROM    FRANCE  327 

had  apparently  been  made  under  no  delusion  as  to  his 
fitness  for  the  trust.  The  appointment  was  a  matter  of 
little  consequence,  Jermyn  had  observed  easily  when  the 
astonishing  nature  of  the  selection  was  under  discussion, 
since  it  was  the  intention  of  the  King  and  Queen  them- 
selves to  act  as  governors  to  the  lad,  never  permitting 
him  to  be  absent  from  both  together.  In  Lord  Berk- 
shire's charge  the  Prince  was  to  remain  until  he 
joined  his  mother  in  Paris.  With  his  father  the  parting 
was  final. 

Henrietta,  meanwhile,  was  continuing  her  labours  at 
the  French  court,  cheered  by  hopes  of  success.  Charles 
was  less  sanguine  as  to  the  result  of  her  endeavours 
to  enlist  upon  his  behalf  the  practical  sympathy  of 
France.  Warning  her,  in  a  letter  of  January,  that  the 
Speaker,  Lenthall,  bragged  of  the  intelligence  existing 
between  himself  and  Mazarin,  he  added  that,  though 
he  would  not  swear  that  Lenthall  spoke  the  truth,  it 
was  fit  that  she  should  hear  of  his  assertion.  With 
regard  to  Sabran,  sent  to  England  for  purposes  of 
mediation,  he  felt  no  doubt  that  either  his  instructions 
had  not  been  framed  in  the  royal  interests  or  that  he 
had  failed  to  act  upon  them.  Henrietta,  he  admitted, 
might  indeed  cure  this  "  coldness  of  friendship,"  but 
the  way  to  do  so  was,  in  Charles'  opinion,  not  so  much 
to  be  sought  by  means  of  the  Cardinal  as  by  a  personal 
friendship  with  the  Queen-Regent.  "  Excuse  me  to 
tell  thee  in  earnest,"  he  says,  with  a  clear  perception  of 
the  weariness  begotten  from  the  importunities  of  a 
constant  petitioner,  "  that  it  is  no  wonder  that  mere 
statesmen  should  desire  to  be  rid  of  thee."  The 
suggestion  of  personal  recourse  to  the  Regent  indicates 
the  King's  ignorance  of  the  nature  of  the  relationship 
between  Queen  and  minister  at  Paris. 


328  HENRIETTA    MARIA 

In  March,  when  the  treaty  of  Uxbridge  had  ended 
in  failure,  he  wrote  to  Henrietta  offering,  in  notable 
language,  fresh  concessions  to  the  Catholics.  "  I  have 
thought  of  one  means  more  to  furnish  thee  with  for 
my  assistance  than  hitherto  thou  hast  had.  It  is  that 
I  give  thee  power  to  promise  in  my  name  (to  whom 
thou  thinkest  most  fit)  that  I  will  take  away  all  the 
penal  laws  against  the  Roman  Catholics  as  soon  as  God 
shall  enable  me  to  do  it  ;  so  as  by  their  means,  or  in 
their  favours,  I  may  have  so  powerful  assistance  as  may 
deserve  so  great  a  favour,  and  enable  me  to  do  it.  .  .  . 
I  need  not  tell  thee  what  secrecy  this  business  requires  ; 
yet  this  I  will  say,  that  this  is  the  greatest  point  of 
confidence  I  can  express  to  thee  ;  for  it  is  no  thanks 
to  me  to  trust  thee  in  anything  else  but  in  this,  which 
is  the  only  thing  of  difference  in  opinion  betwixt  us. 
And  yet  I  know  thou  wilt  make  as  good  a  bargain 
for  me,  even  in  this,  I  trusting  thee  (though  it  concern 
religion)  as  if  thou  wert  a  Protestant,  the  visible  good 
of  my  affairs  so  much  depending  on  it." 

At  the  end  of  March  he  further  sent  Henrietta 
word  of  a  curious  suggestion  made  by  one  of  the  most 
considerable  of  the  "  London  rebels,"  that  since  the 
Uxbridge  treaty  had  come  to  nought,  and  neither  party 
could  resume  it  without  too  great  an  appearance  of 
yielding,  it  should  be  renewed  on  a  motion  of  the 
Queen's,  with  a  pre-assurance  that  the  rebels  would  listen 
to  reason.  "The  answer  that  I  permitted  my  servant 
to  make  was  that  thou  art  the  much  fittest  person  to 
be  the  means  of  so  happy  and  glorious  a  work  as  the 
peace  of  this  kingdom  ;  but  that  upon  no  terms  thy 
name  was  to  be  profaned  " — therefore,  that  pledges  must 
be  given  that  the  rebels  would  be  ready  to  yield  before 
she  should  be  brought  into  the  matter.      "  This  I  believe 


THE    COURT   AT   THE   LOUVRE        329 

will  come  to  nothing,"  added  the  King,  as  well  he 
might.  It  was  not  likely  that  the  authorities  at  West- 
minster would  look  to  Henrietta  to  facilitate  a  pacifi- 
cation on  terms  they  would  accept. 

How  many  a  wild  and  hopeless  scheme  was  dis- 
cussed at  the  little  court  collected  round  the  Queen  at 
the  Louvre  none  can  tell.  To  her  vicinity  would 
naturally  resort  men  of  different  kinds  and  for  different 
reasons.  There  would  be  her  own  permanent  household, 
with  Jermyn  at  its  head,  and  his  secretary,  Cowley  the 
poet,  whose  literary  labours  had  given  place  to  the  duty 
of  putting  into  cipher  or  deciphering  such  portions  of  the 
royal  correspondence  as  were  not  too  private  to  be  en- 
trusted to  his  knowledge.  There  was  the  Queen's  old 
servant,  Goring,  now  created  Earl  of  Norwich,  whose 
son — described  by  Clarendon  as  wanting  nothing  but 
industry  to  have  been  as  eminent  and  successful  in  the 
highest  attempt  of  wickedness  as  any  man  in  the  age 
he  lived  in  or  before — was  carrying  on  the  war  in  the 
western  counties  on  the  King's  behalf  and  his  own,  and 
threatening  that,  though  his  father  was  not  well  treated 
by  the  Queen  at  Paris,  King  and  Queen  would  shortly 
find  it  reasonable  to  deal  better  with  father  and  son  alike. 
There  would  be  the  knot  of  refugees,  such  as  the 
secretary,  Windebank — men  who  had  been  forced  to 
fly  from  England  at  an  earlier  date,  and  had  drifted 
sooner  or  later  to  Paris  ;  and  others  who,  not  unwilling 
to  find  an  excuse  to  withdraw  from  personal  participation 
in  the  struggle,  had  exchanged  active  service  for  such 
as  could  be  rendered  from  a  safe  distance.  A  later 
comer,  Newcastle,  had  found  his  way  to  the  Louvre — 
with,  no  doubt,  explanations  to  offer  of  his  abandonment 
of  his  post,  but  ready,  should  his  presence  there  be 
thought   desirable,    to    return   to    England    and    take    up 


330  HENRIETTA    MARIA 

arms  once  more  ;  and  meantime,  one  imagines,  like  the 
"  very  fine  gentleman  '  he  is  called  by  Clarendon,  con- 
temptuously tolerant  of  the  motley  crew  collected  round 
the  Queen. 

Prominent  amongst  the  outer  circle  or  hangers-on  at 
her  court  must  have  been  the  group  of  Irish  adventurers 
who  had  been  already  carrying  on  their  schemes  in  Paris 
before  her  arrival.  A  joint  committee  of  Catholics, 
English  and  Irish,  had  been  formed,  and  its  members  would 
naturally  look  to  Henrietta  for  assistance  in  gaining 
the  objects  they  had  in  view.  Of  these  objects,  some 
were  avowed,  others  secret  ;  and  whilst  a  certain  number 
of  the  men  at  work  were  anxious  both  to  serve  the  King 
and  to  establish  matters  of  religion  upon  a  more  satis- 
factory footing,  others  were  merely  seeking  to  turn 
the  royal  necessities  to  their  own  profit.  The  Queen 
can  scarcely  be  blamed  if,  on  her  first  arrival,  she 
found  it  difficult  to  distinguish  between  the  two  classes. 
A  Jesuit  named  O'Hartegan,  stigmatised  later  on  by 
Charles  as  an  arrant  knave,  seems  to  have  been  successful 
in  gaining  her  confidence,  though  she  was  subsequently 
converted  to  the  King's  opinion,  assuring  Digby  that  he 
need  not  be  uneasy  with  regard  to  Hartegan  and  would 
shortly  hear  that  she  had  spoken  to  him  according  to 
his  deserts. 

One  of  the  more  eminent  Catholics  at  Paris  was  Sir 
Kenelm  Digby,  who,  released  from  his  London  prison 
through  the  mediation  of  Anne  of  Austria,  did  not 
consider  himself  debarred  by  his  promise  to  carry  on 
no  practices  prejudicial  to  the  Parliament  from  conducting 
negotiations  with  the  Vatican.  To  Rome  he  was  accord- 
ingly to  be  despatched,  his  mission  being  carefully  limited 
in  a  contemporary  letter  to  that  of  "  a  high  messenger 
of  honour  '    bearing  the  Queen's  congratulations  to  the 


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ROME   AND    IRELAND  331 

new  Pope,  "  not  of  an  ambassador  as  the  vulgar  give 
out,"  that  title  being  reserved  for  the  envoys  of  reigning 
sovereigns.  It  was  necessary  to  insist  on  the  distinction, 
owing  to  the  tendency  mentioned  by  the  same  writer  "  to 
cry  [Henrietta]  up  for  Queen-Regent  of  England  as  her 
sister  is  of  France  "  ;  but  the  absence  of  the  title  will  have 
been  no  obstacle  to  the  exercise  by  Digby  of  the  functions 
of  an  ambassador  at  a  juncture  when  the  presence  of  a 
practised  diplomatist  at  the  papal  court  was  of  special  value. 
The  influence  of  Rome  and  the  question  of  the  fashion 
after  which  it  would  be  exerted  was  of  the  greater 
moment  to  the  Royalist  party  owing  to  the  condition 
of  Ireland  and  the  hopes  entertained  with  regard  to  it. 
In  the  month  of  May  Rinuccini  was  sent  as  Nuncio  to 
that  country,  with  instructions  to  pass  through  Paris, 
visit  Henrietta,  and  assure  her  that  his  mission  was  purely 
religious,  and  included  no  design  of  infringing  the  rights 
of  the  Crown.  The  Nuncio  was  also  directed  to  use  all 
available  means  to  prevent  the  Queen  from  resorting 
to  Ireland.  That  an  explanation  amounting  to  little 
more  than  a  promise  of  neutrality  should  have  been 
offered  indicates  that  little  assistance  was  to  be  expected 
from  the  Pope.  It  may  have  been  the  conviction 
that  this  was  the  case  that  inspired  the  Queen  with 
unusual  discretion.  When  Rinuccini  upon  his  arrival 
in  Paris  expressed  his  desire  to  present  himself  at  the 
Louvre,  she  declined  to  accord  him  a  formal  audience, 
on  the  grounds  that  it  would  appear  that  he  had  been 
sent  to  her  from  Rome,  and  would  thus  furnish  fresh 
cause  for  calumny.  To  her  offer  to  receive  the  Nuncio 
privately,  he,  in  his  turn,  replied  by  a  refusal,  and  the 
envoy  proceeded  on  his  mission  without  an  interview. 
His  subsequent  conduct  proved  that  no  good  would 
have  been   likely  to  result  from  a  meeting. 


33i 


HENRIETTA    MARIA 


Besides  the  other  heterogeneous  elements  forming 
Henrietta's  court,  there  were  included  in  it  men  whose 
presence  at  the  Louvre  was  due  to  the  fact  that,  of  two 
evils,  the  King  had  considered  it  the  least,  and  had 
thought  them  safest  out  of  England.  Such  were 
Henry  Percy,  whose  brother  Northumberland  had 
lately  "  taken  the  protection  '  of  the  two  royal 
children  left  in  London,  and  Lord  Wilmot,  afterwards 
Earl  of  Rochester.  Deprived  of  high  posts  in  the 
army  on  suspicion  of  mutinous  tendencies,  the  two 
had  been  placed  under  arrest,  being  afterwards  set  at 
liberty  on  condition  that  they  quitted  the  country.  In 
announcing  to  the  Queen  that  Percy  had  started  for  Paris 
— Wilmot  having  preceded  him — Charles  gave  frank 
expression  to  his  opinion  of  the  pair. 

"  But  that  I  know  thou  carest  not  for  a  little  trouble 
to  free  me  from  greater  inconvenience,  yet  I  must  tell 
thee  that  if  I  knew  not  the  perfect  steadiness  of  thy  love 
to  me,  I  might  reasonably  apprehend  that  their  repair  to 
thee  would  rather  prove  a  change  than  an  end  to  their 
villainies,  and  I  cannot  deny  that  my  confidence  in  thee 
was  some  cause  for  this  permission." 

On  the  whole  it  appears  from  the  sequel  that,  though 
they  continued  unpopular  and  were  distrusted  by  the 
sager  amongst  the  cavaliers,  Percy  and  Wilmot  re- 
mained faithful  in  future  to  the  losing  cause  of  royalism. 
But  at  the  present  time  it  must  have  been  a  grave 
addition  to  Henrietta's  cares  that  men  should  have 
been  included  amongst  those  around  her  whose  good 
faith  was  open  to  question,  and  who  might  be  suspected 
of  playing  the  part  of  spies  in  her  household.  The 
difficulty  of  so  regulating  her  conduct  towards  these 
doubtful  adherents  as  to  avoid  a  further  alienation  of 
their  sympathies,  whilst  withholding  a  display  of  favour 


PERCY    AND    WILMOT  333 

in  no  wise  merited  by  their  past  behaviour,  is  to  be 
inferred  from  a  letter  addressed  by  Henrietta  to  Lord 
Digby,  now  secretary  to.  the  King,  in  answer  to  some 
expression  of  surprise  on  his  part  that  Wilmot  should 
have  been  well  received.  If  he  had  been  well  received,  the 
Queen  replied,  it  was  by  the  King's  directions,  and 
Digby's  own.  She  added,  however,  that  by  his  good 
carriage  in  Paris  he  had  merited  this  entertainment  ; 
and  noted,  as  a  point  in  his  favour,  that  Percy  and 
he  were  less  good  friends  than  had  been  thought. 
In  announcing  Percy's  arrival  to  the  secretary  Jermyn 
wrote  that  he  had  waited  on  the  Queen,  Henrietta 
having  inferred  from  a  warning  sent  her  by  the  King  as 
to  the  untrustworthiness  of  the  reports  he  might  be 
expected  to  make  that  it  was  not  Charles'  pleasure  that 
she  should  refuse  him  an  audience. 

If  the  Mercurius  Britannicus  is  to  be  trusted  Henri- 
etta had,  a  little  later,  her  own  counter-warnings  to 
send  across  the  Channel.  According  to  this  authority, 
"  Rupert  himself  (after  all  his  merciful  service)  is  not 
to  be  trusted,  for  our  sovereign  she-saint  sends  a  scold- 
ing epistle  out  of  France  (she  knows  how  to  do  it)  to 
the  King  her  husband,  wherein  .  .  .  she  signifies  her 
displeasure  for  making  Rupert  General."  Her  caution, 
if  it  had  been  sent,  may  have  been  the  repetition  of 
the  warning  she  had  given  before,  not  unjustified  by 
the  event. 

During  part  of  the  spring  Henrietta's  labours  had 
been  perforce  intermitted  by  reason  of  her  condition 
of  health.  She  had,  Jermyn  reported  to  Digby  in  April, 
been  sick  of  an  ague,  adding  his  belief  that  danger  was 
then  over.  In  a  letter  from  the  King  belonging  to  the 
same  month,  he  left  it  to  Jermyn's  discretion  how  far  it 
would  be  well  to  refrain  from   troubling  the  invalid  with 


334 


HENRIETTA    MARIA 


business.  Her  health  was  to  be  the  first  thing  cared 
for  ;  then  the  King's  affairs.  "  In  your  next,"  he  wrote, 
"  let  me  know  particularly  how  my  wife  is.  Though 
[her  health]  be  not  as  I  would  have  it,  yet  the  perfect 
knowledge  will  hinder  me  to  imagine  her  worse  than 
she  is.      If  well,  then  every  word  will  please  me." 

Amongst  the  questions  of  most  importance  occupying 
Henrietta  at  this  time  was  the  suggested  marriage  of 
her  son  to  the  Prince  of  Orange's  daughter  ;  and  letters 
between  Paris  and  the  Hague  on  the  subject  were 
constantly  passing,  money  and  practical  support  being 
the  conditions  of  the  proposed  arrangement.  But  the 
consideration  of  this  scheme  did  not  prevent  the  Queen 
from  seeking  to  pave  the  way,  in  case  of  necessity,  for 
another  alliance,  and  one  more  to  her  own  taste. 

The  year,  according  to  Mademoiselle  de  Montpensier, 
had  been  uneventful  in  Paris.  The  dissensions  between 
the  court  and  the  representatives  of  the  people,  soon  after- 
wards to  take  such  serious  developments,  were  having 
their  beginnings,  but  had  not  reached  so  acute  a  stage 
as  to  take  precedence  in  Mademoiselle's  eyes,  could 
that  in  any  case  have  been  possible,  of  her  private 
concerns.  At  eighteen  her  own  future  was  the  subject 
of  her  serious  consideration,  and  she  was  weighing  the 
possibility  of  a  marriage  with  the  new-made  widower, 
the  King  of  Spain.  Dazzled  by  the  contemplation  of 
this  brilliant  match,  the  attentions  she  bestowed  upon 
her  ill-starred  aunt  assumed  somewhat  of  the  character 
of  a  condescension  ;  nor  was  she  inclined  to  view 
with  favour  the  design  she  suspected  upon  Henrietta's 
part  of  securing  for  her  son,  with  his  doubtful  prospects, 
the  hand  of  the  greatest  heiress  in  Europe. 

"  I  visited  the  Queen  of  England  with  assiduity," 
she   says.      "  Unhappy   as   she   was,    she  did   not  fail    to 


THE   QUEEN'S   COMPLAINTS  335 

take  pleasure  in  exaggerating  her  past  prosperity  ;  the 
sweetness  of  the  life  she  had  led  in  England  ;  the  beauty 
and  the  friendliness  \bonte']  of  the  country  ;  the  pastimes 
she  had  had  there  ;  and  above  all  the  good  qualities  of 
her  son,  the  Prince  of  Wales.  She  displayed  a  desire 
that  I  should  see  him.  From  this  I  formed  my  own 
conjectures  as  to  her  intentions  ;  and  it  will  be  seen  by 
the  sequel  that  I  was  not  mistaken." 

But  whilst  projects  vague  and  definite,  of  various 
degrees  of  importance,  were  filling  the  Queen's  mind, 
it  is  in  her  letters  to  the  King,  and  perhaps  scarcely  less 
in  the  King's  replies,  that  the  hopes  and  fears  distracting 
her  true  inner  life  are  to  be  discovered.  It  is  evident 
that  she  was  haunted  by  the  dread  that  by  some  change 
of  purpose,  some  display  of  irresolution,  Charles  might 
discredit  himself  and  her,  and  alienate  the  sympathies 
of  those  from  whom  she  was  labouring  to  obtain 
assistance.  As  early  as  December,  1644,  she  had  given 
vent  to  her  annoyance  at  some  lack  of  correspondence 
between  the  facts  and  the  expectations  she  had  raised 
in  Paris.  "  It  will  make  me  henceforth  learn  to  say 
nothing,"  she  wrote,  "  since  you  are  not  resolute  in 
your  designs  ;  for  the  thing  of  all  others  that  has 
already  most  injured  you  here  was  your  having  this 
reputation,  which  I  tried  with  all  my  might  to  re- 
move. .  .  .  Take  care  of  your  honour,  which  is  to 
remain  constant  in  the  resolutions  that  you  have  taken, 
and  in  comparison  with  that  think  of  no  one.  This  is  all 
I  desire."  Again  and  again  the  counsels  to  stand  firm  by 
his  own  resolutions,  and  by  those  who  have  been  true 
to  him,  betray  his  wife's  lurking  fears  of  a  relinquish- 
ment of  the  position  he  had  taken  up.  "  Above  all," 
she  reiterated,  "  have  a  care  not  to  abandon  those 
who     have     served    you,    as    well    the     bishops    as    the 


336  HENRIETTA   MARIA 

poor  Catholics "  ;  and  once  more,  when  the  treaty  at 
Uxbridge  had  been  in  progress,  "  I  have  long  ago 
recommended  the  bishops  to  you,  and  those  who  are 
your  servants,  who  have  suffered  for  you." 

She  had  no  reason  to  fear  that,  in  the  matter  of  the 
bishops,  at  least,  or  of  his  loyal  friends,  the  King  would 
prove  weak.  With  regard  to  the  first  it  was  not  long 
before  she  would  have  willingly  found  him  less  resolute. 
He  was,  for  the  rest,  anxious,  eager,  to  convince  her 
that  her  counsels  and  wishes,  save  on  the  one  point  of 
religion,  were  weighty  in  deciding  his  course.  "  I  pray 
thee  consider,"  he  wrote  in  April,  "  since  I  love  thee 
above  all  earthly  things,  and  that  my  contentment  is 
unseparably  conjoined  with  thine,  must  not  all  my 
actions  tend  to  serve  and  please  thee  ? '  In  this  same 
letter  occurs  one  of  those  comparatively  rare  complaints 
giving  so  pathetic  a  picture  of  his  loneliness.  "  If  thou 
knew  what  a  life  I  lead  .  .  .  even  in  point  of  conversation, 
which  in  my  mind  is  the  chief  joy  or  vexation  of  one's 
life,  I  dare  say  thou  would  pity  me  ;  for  some  are  too 
wise,  others  too  foolish,  some  too  busy,  others  too 
reserved,  many  fantastic.  ...  I  confess,"  he  adds,  in 
tender  flattery,  "  thy  company  hath  perhaps  made  me 
in  this  hard  to  be  pleased,  but  not  less  to  be  pitied  by 
thee,  who  art  the  only  cure  for  this  disease.  The  end 
of  all  this  is  to  desire  thee  to  comfort  me  as  often  as 
thou  can  with  thy  letters  ;  and  dost  not  thou  think  that 
to  know  particulars  of  thy  health,  and  how  thou  spendest 
the  time,  are  pleasing  subjects  to  me,  though  thou  hast 
no  other  business  to  write  of?  Believe  me,  Sweet- 
heart, thy  kindness  is  as  necessary  to  comfort  my  heart 
as  thy  assistance  is  for  my  affairs." 

In  May  the  King's  affairs  had  assumed  a  more  hope- 
ful aspect  than  for  some  time  previously,  and  writing  on 


BATTLE   OF   NASEBY  337 

the  march  he  communicated  his  sanguine  anticipations 
to  the  Queen.  Henrietta,  too,  had  recovered  from  her 
late  malady,  and,  able  to  use  her  hand  again,  wrote  to 
give  the  King  news  of  herself  in  terms  which  must  have 
been  grateful   to  him. 

"  My  dear  heart,  this  letter  is  only  to  assure  you 
that  God  has  still  been  pleased  to  leave  me  in  this  world 
to  do  you  some  service.  .  .  .  The  physicians  give  me 
hope  that  the  spring  will  cure  me  perfectly  ;  which  I 
the  rather  wish  that  I  may  see  you  again  before  I  die 
than  for  any  love  I  have  for  the  world,  for  all  that 
troubled  me  during  my  illness  was  that  I  was  dying  far 
from  you  ;  otherwise  I  did  not  greatly  care  about  it. 
1  hope  He  will  yet  give  me  this  joy,  [for  which  I  wait] 
with  much  impatience." 

On  May  31st  Charles  wrote  again  to  communicate 
his  continued  success.  By  the  middle  of  June  he  had 
sustained  the  decisive  and  crushing  defeat  at  Naseby, 
when  the  royal  papers,  including  Charles'  letters  to 
Henrietta,  and  hers  to  him,  with  more  compromising 
documents  still,  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy. 
This  last  was  a  disaster  the  effect  of  which  can 
scarcely  be  exaggerated  ;  yet,  writing  to  his  secretary, 
Nicholas,  when  all  had  been  printed  and  laid  before 
the  nation,  Charles'  language  proves  his  incapacity  to 
measure  and  calculate  the  sentiments  likely  to  be  aroused 
by  the  revelation  of  his  secret  thoughts,  plans,  and 
designs.  "So  that  one  clause  be  rightly  understood  " 
— the  term  "  mongrel  Parliament  "  applied  to  that  held 
at  Oxford — "  I  care  not  much  though  the  rest  take 
their  fortunes,"  he  wrote,  after  stating  that,  though  he 
could  have  wished  his  foes  had  spared  themselves  the 
trouble  of  printing,  yet  he  would  neither  deny  what 
was   set    out    in    his    name,    nor,    as   a    good    Protestant 


338  HENRIETTA    MARIA 

and  honest  man,  blush  for  the  papers.  "  As  a  discreet 
man,"  he  admitted,  "  I  will  not  justify  myself ;  and 
yet  I  would  fain  know  him  who  would  be  willing 
that  the  freedom  of  all  his  private  letters  were  publicly 
seen,  as  now  mine  have  been." 

The  regret  thus  expressed,  not  without  dignity,  was 
incompatible  with  any  true  sense  of  the  irreparable  injury 
inflicted  on  the  royal  cause  by  the  revelation  of  the 
pledges  given  to  Catholics,  the  negotiations  with  the 
Irish,  and  the  endeavours  to  obtain  armed  assistance  from 
foreign  mercenaries.  Charles  laboured  under  the  special 
disadvantage  peculiar  to  kings.  If,  as  it  has  been  pointed 
out,  he  belonged  but  by  a  fraction  of  his  blood  to  the 
people  over  whom  he  was  set,  it  was  no  greater  disability 
than  attaches  to  all  royal  houses,  inevitably  of  mixed 
race,  belonging  to  no  single  nationality,  but  combining  in 
themselves  the  traditions  of  many  alien  stocks.  An 
accident  of  birth  places  a  German,  a  Dane,  an  Italian, 
upon  the  throne  ;  and  only  by  a  convenient  conventional 
fiction  can  he  be  regarded  as  other  than  a  foreigner.  Of 
men  of  like  descent  it  is  vain  to  demand,  and  unfair 
to  expect,  the  instinctive  apprehension  of  national  pre- 
judices and  national  sentiment  to  be  looked  for  in  the 
old  families  whose  roots  have  been  for  centuries  struck 
into  the  native  soil. 

If  Charles'  sense  of  the  damage  caused  by  the  capture 
of  the  incriminating  documents  were  incommensurate  with 
its  extreme  importance,  he  did  not  blind  himself  to  the 
extent  of  the  actual  blow  he  had  received  at  Naseby, 
and  the  thought  of  Henrietta's  participation  in  the 
disaster  gave  it  added  bitterness.  "  We  live  here  in 
great  disquiet,"  wrote  Lord  Digby  to  the  Queen  on 
July  10th,  "  till  we  hear  how  your  Majesty  hath  digested 
our    late    misfortune.     God    be    thanked,    we    have    lost 


AFTER   NASEBY  339 

already  the  sharp  sense  of  it."  Digby  had  a  special 
aptitude  for  a  rapid  loss  of  the  sharp  sense  of  disaster. 
He  also  thanked  God,  deploring  the  loss  of  the  King's 
papers,  that  his  own  were  safe,  not  guessing  how  quickly 
he  was  in  this  respect  to  be  in  the  King's  case  ;  that 
a  copy  of  the  very  letter  he  was  now  writing  would  be 
amongst  those  captured  at  Sherburn  ;  and  that  the  assur- 
ance with  which  he  concludes,  to  the  effect  that  whilst  the 
Queen  shows  the  reliance  she  has  hitherto  done  "  upon 
my  entire  dedication  of  myself  to  your  Majesty,  no 
worldly  accident  can  make  me  unhappy,"  would  be 
shortly  in  the  hands  of  his  enemies. 

By  August  9th  Digby  was  writing  to  Jermyn  that 
it  was  a  prediction  of  good  fortune  that  the  Queen  bore 
the  royal  misfortunes  with  moderation,  and  was  char- 
acteristically pointing  out  that  the  King's  ill-success 
would  have  the  advantage  of  enlisting  the  assistance  of 
France,  the  interest  of  that-  country  being  to  "  balance 
things  here."  Henrietta's  courage  may  have  risen  to 
meet  disaster,  and  she  may  only  have  been  spurred 
on  by  it  to  fresh  energy.  Sir  Dudley  Wyatt,  writing 
to  inform  Digby  of  his  arrival  at  Saint-Germain  on 
July  1 2th  and  of  the  audience  he  had  had  with  the 
Queen,  said  that  she  had  received  all  the  letters  and 
messages  of  which  he  was  the  bearer  with  satisfaction, 
"  except  in  one  particular,  which  was  concerning  his 
Majesty's  hazarding  his  own  sacred  person,  which  for 
no  reason  of  gallantry  or  necessity  her  Majesty  would 
grant  to  be  well  done,  and  this  I  desire  you  to  let  the 
King  know." 

France,  as  usual,  was  lavish  in  the  matter  of  protesta- 
tion.    On  the  last  day  of  July  the  Queen-Regent  supped 
with  Henrietta  at  Saint-Germain,  returning  to  Paris  the 
same  night,  and  the  Cardinal  promised  a  visit  two  days 
vol.   11.  3 


34o  HENRIETTA   MARIA 

later.  "  He  is  full  of  professions  of  desire  to  serve  the 
Queen  importantly,"  wrote  Jermyn  to  Digby,  "which 
now  I  observe  for  that  they  are  renewed  on  his  part  since 
the  necessities  on  ours."  Taught  by  experience  not  to 
place  overmuch  faith  in  the  minister's  promises,  Jermyn 
added  that  what  took  away  his  pain  is  that  vain  expecta- 
tions were  never  less  dangerous,  li  for  if  we  had  none 
in  the  world  I  see  no  way  open  to  treat  in  the  condition 
we  are  in."  Naseby  had  marked  the  extinction  of  many 
hopes.  In  spite  of  Montrose's  brilliant  victories,  and 
of  gleams  of  success  attending  the  King's  own  arms, 
the  royal  cause  was  steadily  declining.  By  the  end  of 
July  Rupert  himself  was  counselling  peace.  Charles 
refused  to  listen.  He  had  made  concession  after  conces- 
sion ;  had  raised  more  hopes  than  he  would  ever  have 
been  likely  to  satisfy.  But  he  was  approaching  a  limit 
which  conscience — that  strange  and  incalculable  arbiter  of 
human  destiny,  would  not  allow  him  to  over-step.  And 
as  that  limit  was  approached  there  came  in  sight  the  final 
defeat  which  was  to  mean,  to  the  monarchy  and  the 
church,  ultimate  victory.  So  long  as  he  drew  breath  the 
strain  of  vacillation,  and  of  something  that,  if  not  con- 
scious insincerity,  was  a  radical  want  of  candour  and 
of  straightforward  dealing  in  his  character,  would  have 
lent  strength  to  his  opponents.  His  death  vindicated  to 
the  nation  alike  himself  and  his  cause.  "  One  service 
alone,  a  service  beyond  price,  could  Charles  offer  to  the 
church,  and  that  was  to  die  for  it." 1  This  service  he 
must  have  been  becoming  aware,  in  spite  of  his  strangely 
sanguine  spirit,  that  he  might  be  called  upon  to  pay. 

He  was  surrounded  by  those  who  would  fain  have 
had  him  sacrifice  conscience  to  expediency,  or  at  the  least 
would  have  urged  him  to  hold  out  anticipations  of  a  like 

1  S.  R.  Gardiner,  History  of  the  Great  Civil  War,  vol.  ii.  p.  258.1 


CHARLES'   ATTITUDE  341 

sacrifice.  "  Unless  we  allow  the  Scots,"  wrote  Digby  to 
Jermyn,  "  without  engagement,  to  hope  that  the  King 
may  possibly  be  brought  in  time  to  hearken  unto  such 
a  change  of  [church]  government,  at  least  by  referring 
it  to  a  synod,  there  is  no  hope  that  ever  they  will  be 
brought  so  much  as  to  a  parley  with  us,  wherein  if  once 
skilfully  engaged  by  letting  them  promise  themselves  what 
the  King  will  never  promise  them,  we  shall  find  means 
so  to  entangle  them  as  that  it  shall  be  impossible  for 
them  ever  to  get  off  again."  But  Charles  stood  firm. 
He  would  neither  yield  nor  so  much  as  hold  out  hopes 
of  yielding. 

Of  Henrietta  at  this  time  little  is  to  be  known. 
Of  the  difficulties  with  which  she  had  to  contend  in 
her  ill-assorted  household  a  letter  of  October  from  Sir 
Robert  Honeywood,  the  Queen  of  Bohemia's  agent  in 
London,  to  Sir  Harry  Vane  gives  a  glimpse.  News  had 
come  from  France,  he  tells  his  correspondent,  of  another 
scuffle  in  the  Queen's  ante-chamber,  between  Wilmot  and 
Percy  on  the  one  side  and  Lord  Jermyn  and  Captain 
Watts  on  the  other.  The  quarrel  had  had  to  do  with 
money,  and  had  reached  such  a  height  that  swords  had 
been  drawn  and  the  Queen  herself  obliged  to  come  out 
of  her  chamber  to  put  an  end  to  it. 

For  the  rest,  there  is  no  doubt  that  she  was  pursuing 
the  old  weary  task  of  soliciting  help  wherever  there  might 
be  a  chance,  howsoever  remote,  of  obtaining  it.  In  July 
a  new  envoy,  Montreuil,  was  despatched  by  Mazarin  to 
England,  with  the  object  of  acting  as  mediator  between 
the  belligerents,  and,  if  possible,  arranging  a  settlement  of 
the  differences  between  them.  The  great  obstacle  to  the 
alliance  between  Charles  and  the  Scotch  favoured  by  the 
Cardinal  was  the  determination  of  the  northern  leaders  to 
force  Presbyterianism  on  England,  and  the  fixed  resolve  of 


342  HENRIETTA   MARIA 

the  King  to  maintain  episcopacy  there.  For  the  question 
of  principle  Mazarin  cared  not  a  jot,  and  his  sentiments 
were  probably  expressed  by  his  envoy  when  he  wrote  that 
the  King  should  prefer  the  preservation  of  his  crown 
to  that  of  all  the  mitres  in  the  world.  But  upon  this 
point  Henrietta  at  first  sided  with  her  husband.  When 
Sir  Robert  Moray  was  sent,  as  a  preliminary  step,  to 
obtain  her  influence  in  favour  of  the  scheme,  he  found 
her  distinctly  hostile  to  any  plan  involving  the  abandon- 
ment of  the  bishops.  It  was  only  reluctantly  that  she 
gave  way  at  length  to  Mazarin's  representations  and  threw 
her  weight  into  the  scales  in  favour  of  the  suggested 
concession.  That,  when  her  influence  was  thus  brought 
to  bear  upon  Charles,  it  utterly  failed  to  shake  his 
determination  to  refuse  to  purchase  the  support  of  the 
northern  kingdom  at  the  cost  of  a  surrender  of  principle, 
should  go  far  to  atone  for  his  former  weakness  and 
compliance.  Three  things  he  would  not  do,  so  he  wrote 
to  Nicholas  in  August.  He  would  not  yield  up  the 
Church  to  the  government  of  Papists,  Presbyterians, 
or  Independents  ;  he  would  not  injure  his  successors 
by  lessening  the  Crown  in  respect  of  its  powers,  military 
and  ecclesiastical  ;  nor  would  he  forsake  his  friends.  It 
was  the  first  of  the  three  points  at  issue  that  was,  during 
the  next  few  months,  of  most  practical  importance,  and 
a  letter  written  in  the  ensuing  February  reflects  the 
attitude  the  Queen  had  then  been  induced  to  take  up 
with  regard  to  it. 

"  I  am  grieved  to  differ  with  thee  in  opinion,"  wrote 
the  King,  "  though  I  am  confident  that  my  judgment, 
not  love,  is  censured  by  thee  for  it.  But  I  hope,  what- 
soever thou  mayest  wish,  thou  wilt  not  blame  me  at 
all,  if  thou  rightly  understand  the  state  of  the  question. 
For  I  assure  thee  I  put  little  or  no  difference  between 


CHARLES   AND   THE   CHURCH         343 

setting  up  the  Presbyterian  government  or  submitting  to 
the  Church  of  Rome.  Therefore  make  the  case  thine 
own.  With  what  patience  would  thou  give  ear  to  him 
who  should  persuade  thee,  for  worldly  respects,  to  leave 
the  communion  of  the  Roman  church  for  any  other  ? 
Indeed,  Sweetheart,  this  is  my  case."  Then,  going  on  to 
give  vent  to  the  ever-haunting  remorse  for  his  acquiescence 
in  the  death  of  Strafford,  he  pursues  :  "  I  must  confess 
to  my  shame  and  grief,  that  heretofore  I  have  for  public 
respects  (yet  I  believe,  if  thy  personal  safety  had  not 
been  at  stake,  I  might  have  hazarded  the  rest)  yielded 
unto  those  things  which  were  no  less  against  my  con- 
science than  this,  for  which  I  have  been  so  deservedly 
punished  that  a  relapse  now  would  be  insufferable."  But 
he  is  resolved  for  the  future  against  any  such  "  mean 
submission."  aLet  not  this  sad  discourse  trouble  thee," 
he  ends,  "  (for,  as  thou  art  free  from  my  faults,  so 
doubtless  God  hath  blessings  in  store  for  thee),  it  being 
only  a  necessary  freedom  to  show  thee  that  no  slight 
cause  can  make  me  deny  to  do  what  thou  desirest." 

Part  of  Henrietta's  earlier  reluctance  to  lend  her 
support  to  a  scheme  pledging  Charles  to  co-operation 
with  the  Scots  has  been  attributed  to  the  efforts  she  was 
still  making  to  obtain  aid  from  foreign  Catholics,  and  to 
a  conviction  that  their  sympathies  might  be  alienated  by 
the  suggested  alliance.  Sir  Kenelm  Digby  had  at  first 
been  full  of  hope  as  to  the  assistance  to  be  expected  from 
Innocent  II.,  and  had  sent  encouraging  reports  from 
Rome.  Writing  to  Lord  Digby  in  June,  Jermyn 
announced  that  his  namesake  had  had  audience  of  the 
Pope,  who  had  given  him  the  best  reception  that  the 
first  visit  was  capable  of — "  that  is,  the  fairest  promises 
in  general  that  can  be  wished."  If  Digby  might  be  relied 
upon,  there  were  good  hopes  of  money  ;  "  but  you  know 


344  HENRIETTA   MARIA 

he  is  of  a  sanguine  family,  and  himself  yet  the  melan- 
choliest  of  it." 

The  King  and  his  friends  must  have  been  growing 
weary  of  fair  promises  in  general  ;  and  it  soon  appeared 
that  those  made  by  Pope  Innocent  were  not  to  be 
reduced  to  the  concrete,  or  to  result  in  more  practical 
assistance  than  the  lavish  professions  of  Mazarin.  When 
it  transpired  that  Sir  Kenelm  had  no  warrant  for  the 
assurances  he  had  been  ready  to  give  of  the  ultimate 
submission  of  Charles  to  the  Holy  See,  zeal  on  his 
behalf  speedily  flagged  ;  whilst  the  proceedings  of  the 
Nuncio  in  Ireland  made  it  quickly  apparent  that  he 
had  the  interests  of  the  Church  more  at  heart  than  the 
reduction  of  the  country  to  obedience. 

Thus  that  anxious  autumn  and  winter  wore  them- 
selves out.  In  September  the  defeat  of  Philiphaugh  had 
followed  upon  Montrose's  victories,  and  in  England  the 
prospect  was  no  less  dark.  Bristol  had  been  delivered 
up  by  Rupert  to  the  enemy,  the  capitulation  rousing 
indignation  bitter  and  deep  in  the  King  towards  his 
favourite  nephew  :  "  Tell  my  son,"  he  wrote  to  Nicholas, 
"  that  I  shall  less  grieve  to  hear  that  he  is  knocked  on 
the  head  than  that  he  should  do  so  mean  an  action  as 
is  the  surrendering  of  Bristol  upon  the  terms  it  was." 
To  Rupert  he  wrote  summarily  dismissing  him  from  his 
service  ;  and  it  is  reported  in  a  contemporary  letter  that 
Henrietta  had  given  it  out  at  Paris  that  the  Prince  had 
sold  the  town  for  money.  Although  the  King's  anger 
may  not  have  been  wholly  justified,  the  consequent 
estrangement  must  have  added  appreciably  to  his  loneli- 
ness. Though  his  nephew  ultimately  returned  to  his 
side,  and  it  will  be  seen  that  Charles  cancelled  his  harsh 
judgment,  the  King  is  said  never  again  to  have  bestowed 
upon  him  the  same  degree  of  confidence  as  formerly. 


After  the  picture  by  Sir  Peter  Lely  in  the  National  Portrait  Gallery. 

Photo  by  Emery  Walker. 

PJR1NCE   RUPERT,    K.G. 


THE   KING'S   POSITION  345 

By  November  Charles  was  once  more  at  Oxford, 
conscious  of  the  gloom  of  the  outlook — conscious  also 
that,  in  his  determination  to  continue  the  war  rather 
than  accept  any  terms  of  peace  likely  to  be  offered,  he 
was  standing  well-nigh  alone. 

Had  a  peace,  indeed,  been  concluded  at  this  time 
it  must  inevitably  have  worn  the  aspect  of  a  surrender. 
Much  had  happened  in  the  latter  part  of  the  year  to 
deepen  the  distrust  felt  for  the  King  by  those  opposed 
to  him.  In  October  the  coup-de-grdce  was  given  to 
any  lingering  faith  in  his  resistance  to  Catholic  demands 
by  the  discovery  of  the  pledges  given  by  Glamorgan 
to  the  confederate  Irish.  Into  the  question  to  what 
extent  Charles  was  responsible  for  these  promises  it  is 
impossible  to  enter,  any  more  than  into  the  details 
of  the  mission  so  disastrously  affecting  his  prospects. 
That  such  promises  had  been  made  by  his  agent  and  in 
his  name  was  sufficient  to  damn  him  in  the  eyes 
of  those  comparatively  moderate  in  opposition  to  the 
Papacy.  The  public  mind  was  further  inflamed  by  the 
news  that  at  Rome  Kenelm  Digby  had  engaged  on 
Henrietta's  behalf  that  the  penal  laws,  in  England  as 
well  as  in  Ireland,  should  be  abolished  ;  that  the  French 
clergy  were  meditating  a  large  contribution  towards  the 
expenses  of  an  expedition,  thus  accentuating  the  fact 
that  Henrietta's  cause  was  identified  abroad  with  that 
of  Catholicism  ;  that  Emery,  Mazarin's  comptroller  of 
finance,  was  hot  in  the  Queen's  cause  and  one  of 
her  chief  advisers ;  and  that  a  project  was  on  foot 
to  marry  the  Prince  of  Wales  to  Mademoiselle  de 
Montpersier.  More  startling  still  was  the  report  that 
Henrietta  was  in  communication  with  the  Scotch  com- 
missioners. The  disavowals  of  Charles  on  the  one 
hand,  and   the  Scotch   on   the  other,   did   little   towards 


346  HENRIETTA  MARIA 

allaying  the  excitement  prevailing  at  the  opening  of  the 
year   1646. 

The  series  of  Charles'  letters  of  this  year,  mostly 
addressed  to  the  Queen,  furnish  an  accurate  index  to 
his  history  at  this  period.  Here  the  story  is  told  of  his 
failing  hopes  ;  of  the  motives  leading  him  to  place 
himself  in  the  hands  of  the  Scotch  army  ;  of  his  nego- 
tiations with  one  party  and  another,  his  intrigues  with 
all.  Not  a  few  passages  in  the  correspondence  throw 
a  reflected  light  upon  Henrietta's  own  proceedings,  and 
may,  therefore,  fitly  find  a  place  here. 

These  letters  are  cited  by  their  editor  as  proof 
conclusive  that  the  distrust  entertained  for  the  King 
was  justified  to  the  full,  all  the  qualities  attributed  to 
him  by  his  enemies  being  found  therein  displayed. 
The  contention  is  not  unjust.  It  is  true  that  in  cases 
where,  not  his  sense  of  honour  alone  but  his  conscience, 
was  touched,  Charles  could  not  only  refuse  to  yield, 
but  could  refuse  to  give  false  hopes  of  ultimate  sub- 
mission. But  these  questions  were  comparatively  few  ; 
and  with  regard  to  others,  to  leave  himself  a  loophole 
of  escape  from  a  pledge,  to  devise  a  form  of  words 
susceptible  of  a  double  interpretation,  and  to  turn  to 
his  advantage  a  verbal  quibble,  was  offensive  neither 
to  his  sense  of  honour  nor  to  his  conscience.  Were 
the  secrets  of  most  diplomatic  negotiations  disclosed 
it  would  probably  be  found  that  he  does  not  stand 
alone  in  disingenuousness.  But  with  a  man  known, 
or  reasonably  suspected,  to  be  capable  of  subterfuges 
of  the  kind,  it  was  impossible  to  treat  with  any  sense  of 
security  ;  nor  can  it  be  denied  that  the  letters  in  question 
indicate  an  absence  of  that  veracity  which,  not  contenting 
itself  with  technical  accuracy,  extends  as  well  to  spirit 
and  intention. 


CHARLES'   LETTERS  347 

Proving  this,  however,  the  correspondence  proves 
no  less  the  lovable  nature  of  the  man  whose  affection 
Henrietta  returned  so  devotedly.  It  also  bears  witness  to 
his  gallantry  in  fighting,  almost  single-handed,  a  losing 
battle,  and  to  his  unfaltering  courage.  Nor,  especially  in 
view  of  the  sin  towards  Strafford  which  pressed  so  heavily 
on  his  heart,  should  the  steadfastness  be  overlooked 
displayed  by  him  in  refusing  to  make  terms  disad- 
vantageous to  his  friends  or  to  principles  he  regarded 
as  essential.  It  was  part  of  the  tragedy  of  his  fate 
that  his  virtues  and  his  failings  alike  contributed  to 
lead  him  to  the  scaffold.  His  word,  in  its  literal  sense, 
was  not  to  be  relied  upon  ;  whilst  the  points  upon 
which  conscience  made  its  stand  and  refused  to  permit 
to  him  even  the  appearance  of  yielding  were  precisely 
those  upon  which  his  opponents  were  determined  to 
insist  as  a  necessary  condition  of  pacification. 


CHAPTER    XVII 

1646 — T647 

The  Prince  of  Wales  in  Jersey — Digby's  schemes — Henrietta  summons 
him  to  Paris — Distrust  of  Jermyn  and  the  Queen — Prince  of  Wales 
at  Paris — Mademoiselle — Charles'  position — His  letters — Arrival  in 
France  of  Henriette-Anne  —  A  ball  in  Paris — Charles'  plans  — 
Rumoured  journey  of  the  Queen  and  Prince  to  Ireland — Lady  Derby 
and  her  family. 

DURING  the  opening  months  of  the  year  1646, 
whilst  the  King  was  carrying  on  from  Oxford 
the  negotiations  which  ended  in  his  taking  the  fatal 
step  of  placing  himself  in  the  hands  of  the  Scots,  Hen- 
rietta was  much  concerned  with  the  movements  of  her 
eldest  son. 

If,  in  her  desire  to  bring  him  to  Paris — a  plan  strongly 
deprecated  by  the  members  of  the  Prince's  council— she 
may  have  been  partly  actuated  by  selfish  motives,  it 
should  be  remembered  that  Charles  was  no  less  anxious 
than  she  that  the  boy  should  be  placed  in  his  mother's 
hands.  Again  and  again,  during  the  time  of  his  darken- 
ing fortunes,  he  had  enjoined  upon  him,  as  well  as  upon 
those  about  him,  that,  in  case  of  any  apparent  danger 
of  his  falling  into  the  power  of  the  enemy,  he  was  to 
leave  the  kingdom  and  convey  himself  to  France,  there 
to  remain  under  the  care  of  his  mother,  who  was  to  have 
absolute  control  over  him,  save — the  exception  is  always 
emphatically  made — in  matters  of  religion,  in  which  she 
was    "  not  to  meddle  at  all." 

348 


THE   PRINCE'S   MOVEMENTS  349 

It  was,  nevertheless,  not  till  March  that  the  situation 
appeared  to  the  Prince's  council  such  as  to  warrant  a 
step  so  decided  as  the  removal  from  the  country  of  the 
heir  to  the  throne.  He  was  first  taken  to  Scilly,  and 
upon  that  island  being  judged  unqualified  for  defence, 
was  carried  on  to  await  the  course  of  events  at  Jersey. 
The  Queen,  for  her  part,  was  urgent  in  her  demands 
that  her  son  should  join  her  in  Paris.  To  the  eagerness 
with  which  she  looked  forward  to  his  coming  a  letter 
to  her  sister  Christine,  the  constant  confidante  of  her  hopes 
and  fears,  gave  expression.  "  I  think,"  she  wrote,  "  he 
will  soon  be  here.  It  is  not  a  little  affliction  to  see  him 
driven  out  of  his  country,  but  a  consolation  if  God  gives 
him  back  to  me  in  a  place  of  safety,  his  person  being 
of  so  much  importance  to  me  that  so  long  as  I  have 
him  safe  I  shall  never  despair  of  our  affairs.  Besides," 
she  adds  candidly,  "  I  must  confess  that  he  is  my 
favourite."  l 

To  those  in  charge  of  the  boy  she  wrote  whilst  he 
was  still  in  Scilly  that,  as  long  as  he  remained  there, 
so  ill  satisfied  was  she  of  his  safety  that  she  could  not 
sleep  in  quiet  ;  and  though  it  appeared  at  first  that  his 
removal  to  Jersey  would  content  her,  her  orders  soon 
became  peremptory  that  he  should  proceed  to  France. 
The  majority  of  the  Prince's  advisers  were  strongly 
opposed  to  the  step  ;  but  when,  added  to  her  "  very 
passionate  commands,"  he  received  a  letter  from  his 
father  expressing  a  hope  that  it  would  find  him  with 
the  Queen,  the  boy  showed  a  disposition  to  act  upon 
the  wishes  thus  expressed  by  both  his  parents  ;  and  it 
was  only  by  the  persuasions  of  his  council  that  he  was 
induced  to  delay  doing  this  until  messengers  should  have 

1  This  letter  is  dated,  in  the  collection  edited  by  M.  Hermann  Ferrero, 
September  1646.     This  is  a  manifest  error. 


35° 


HENRIETTA   MARIA 


repaired  once  more  to  France  to  reason  with  the  im- 
patient Queen. 

Henrietta  was  found  by  those  sent  "  much  troubled," 
and,  as  might  have  been  expected,  inaccessible  to  any 
arguments  designed  to  lead  her  to  acquiesce  in  the  wisdom 
of  the  Prince's  continuance  at  Jersey.  She  consented, 
nevertheless,  upon  the  representations  of  the  envoys,  to 
rescind  her  positive  commands  for  the  Prince's  instant 
removal,  reserving  a  final  decision  until  further  news 
should  be  received  from  the  King,  by  this  time  with 
the  Scottish  army. 

At  Jersey,  meanwhile,  fresh  complications  had  arisen, 
owing  to  the  arrival  upon  the  scene  of  Lord  Digby, 
full  of  new  schemes  and  projects.  It  has  been  already 
seen,  by  his  attitude  after  the  crushing  defeat  of  Naseby, 
that  his  manner  of  meeting  disaster  must  have  made 
him  an  invaluable  adherent  to  a  losing  cause.  "  He 
was,"  says  Clarendon,  "  a  person  of  so  rare  a  composition, 
by  nature  and  by  art  (for  nature  alone  could  never  have 
reached  to  it),  that  he  was  so  far  from  being  dismayed 
upon  any  misfortune  (and  greater  variety  of  misfortunes 
never  befel  any  man)  that  he  quickly  recollected  himself, 
so  vigorously  that  he  did  really  believe  his  condition 
to  be  improved  by  that  ill  accident,  and  that  he  had  an 
opportunity  thereby  to  gain  a  n&w  stock  of  reputation 
and  honour."  The  times  were,  beyond  dispute,  apt  for 
the  display  of  this  inextinguishable  energy,  and  Digby 
was,  perhaps,  in  these  days  of  misfortune,  one  of  the 
servants  highest  in  the  King's  confidence,  as  he  was 
one  of  those  most  hated  by  the  greater  portion  of 
the  Royalist  party.  When  he  had  been  forced  in  the 
preceding  autumn  to  make  his  escape  to  the  Isle  of 
Man,  a  fierce  attack  had  been  made  upon  him  by  Rupert, 
then    in    disgrace    with    the   King.      Digby,    the    Prince 


DIGBY'S   SCHEMES  351 

had  declared,  was  the  man  who  had  raised  distractions 
between  himself  and  Charles.  "  They  are  all  rogues 
and  rascals  that  say  so,"  answered  the  King  hotly,  "  and 
in  effect  traitors  that  seek  to  dishonour  my  best  subjects." 
Digby's  passionate  loyalty  and  personal  devotion, 
combined  with  his  reckless  courage  and  imperishable 
hopefulness,  were  sufficient  to  account  for  the  affection 
of  King  and  Queen.  But  Charles  did  not  blind 
himself  to  the  unreliable  nature  of  his  friend's  exoecta- 
tions.  When,  in  January,  he  had  written  to  Henrietta 
that  Digby,  being  at  the  time  in  Ireland,  was  hopeful 
of  assistance  from  thence,  he  had  added  a  caution, 
"  knowing  my  author  to  be  most  sanguine,"  against 
placing  overmuch  confidence  in  the  realisation  of  his 
anticipations.  Those  anticipations  lacked  fulfilment  ; 
but  Digby's  spirits  were  proof  against  disappointment, 
and  he  suddenly  appeared  at  Jersey  with  a  couple  of 
frigates  and  a  certain  number  of  men,  imbued  with  the 
conviction  that  nothing  was  wanting  but  the  presence 
of  the  heir-apparent  in  Ireland  to  transform  the  situation 
there  and  to  reduce  the  nation  to  submission.  To 
his  suggestion  that  the  Prince  should  lose  no  time 
in  crossing  the  Irish  Channel,  the  boy  replied  that  he 
was  awaiting  the  return  of  the  envoys  sent  to  the 
Queen,  but  Digby  was  so  far  from  acquiescence  in  delay 
in  acting  on  his  scheme,  that  he  made  the  singular 
suggestion — no  doubt  to  Hyde  himself— that  the  Prince 
should  be  invited  on  board  a  ship,  that  it  should  then  set 
sail,  and  that  he  should  be  conveyed,  with  or  without  his 
own  consent,  to  Ireland.  When  his  confidant,  not  un- 
naturally, declined  to  countenance  so  wild  a  scheme,  Digby, 
having  "  a  most  pregnant  fancy,"  at  once  started  another. 
He  himself  would  hasten  to  Paris,  convert  the  Queen  from 
her  desire  that  the  Prince  should  seek  shelter  in  France, 


352  HENRIETTA    MARIA 

and  return  to  Jersey,  armed  with  her  approbation  of 
the  Irish  project,  as  well  as  provided  with  funds  to 
enable  him  to  carry  it  to  a  successful  conclusion. 

If  it  argued  some  presumption  on  Digby's  part  that 
he  should  have  been  confident  of  turning  the  Queen 
from  her  declared  purpose,  he  had  reason  to  count  upon 
his  influence  with  Henrietta.  Besides  the  fact  that  he 
was  her  own  convert  to  the  King's  cause,  his  hot- 
headed enthusiasm  and  his  sanguine  temperament  must 
have  been  much  to  her  liking.  In  a  letter  of  the  pre- 
ceding year,  after  reproaching  him  for  silence,  she  had 
added  that  not  for  that  reason  would  she  forbear  from 
writing  to  him,  though  it  were  only  to  tell  him  that  she 
feared  he  was  as  inconstant  to  his  friends  as  men  to  their 
mistresses.  "  For  my  part,  I  have  only  this  fault,  to  be 
a  good  friend,"  she  added  ;  "  and  I  believe  you  know 
it."  Doubtless  Digby  did  know  it  ;  and,  knowing  it, 
he  may  have  failed  to  take  into  account  another  charac- 
teristic, not  less  marked,  in  the  Queen — namely,  her 
strong  will.  When  he  appeared  at  Paris,  full  of  his 
project,  she  declined  to  be  convinced  of  its  wisdom. 
Ready  to  do  all  in  her  power  for  Ireland,  she  was 
not  to  be  shaken  in  her  determination  to  insist  upon 
the  Prince's  presence  in  Paris  ;  and  considering  that, 
both  in  the  King's  eyes  and  her  own,  Charles'  safety 
depended  upon  that  of  his  heir,  she  can  scarcely  be 
blamed  for  refusing  to  lend  an  ear  to  Digby's  plan  of 
transporting  him  to  so  disturbed  a  country. 

From  the  Queen  he  proceeded  to  pay  his  respects  to 
the  Cardinal,  who,  acquainted  with  the  man  with  whom 
he  had  to  deal,  was  so  adroit  in  his  manipulation  of  him, 
so  lavish  of  his  flattery  and  profuse  in  promises,  that  the 
less  astute  Englishman  was  won  over  to  a  firm  belief 
in  the   minister's    good    intentions,   and  allowed    himself 


DIGBY    AND    MAZARIN  353 

to  be  persuaded  of  the  absolute  necessity  that  the 
Prince  should  resort  to  Paris.  When  the  lad  should 
be  on  French  soil,  the  Cardinal  undertook  that  an 
ambassador,  to  be  nominated  by  Henrietta  herself— 
from  whom  he  was  to  receive  his  instructions — should 
proceed  to  England,  present  an  ultimatum  to  the  rebel 
Government,  and,  upon  its  rejection,  declare  war  ;  an 
army  worthy  of  the  Prince  being  forthwith  placed  at 
his  disposal. 

This  was  the  programme  designed  to  dazzle  Digby 
and  cause  him  to  accept  it  in  place  of  his  own.  It 
fully  answered  its  purpose.  Passing  with  characteristic 
rapidity  from  one  plan  to  another,  Digby  now  assured 
Henrietta  that  he  would  convert  all  the  Prince's 
counsellors  to  approval  of  his  removal  to  France,  under- 
took that  Charles  should  at  once  obey  her  commands, 
and  not  only  gave  her  his  advice  as  to  the  choice  of 
an  ambassador,  but  lent  his  hand  to  the  preparation  of 
the  envoy's  instructions.  Bellievre  was  selected  to  play 
the  part  of  the  belligerent  intermediary;  a  sum  of  money 
— less,  indeed,  than  had  been  anticipated,  but  acceptable 
enough — was  placed  by  the  Cardinal  in  Digby's  hands  ; 
and  to  make  all  secure  and  quicken  the  Queen's  anxiety 
to  have  her  son  in  her  own  care,  the  minister  revealed, 
in  a  letter  to  the  Prince  de  Conde  certain  to  be  com- 
municated to  Henrietta,  news  of  a  bogus  plot  hatching 
at  Jersey  with  the  object  of  delivering  the  Prince  into 
the  hands  of  the  enemy. 

Such  is  the  account  given  by  Clarendon  of  Digby's 
visit  to  Paris — an  account  he  must  have  received  at 
first  hand  from  Digby,  who  hastened  back  to  urge  the 
Prince's  immediate  departure  for  France. 

The  news  anxiously  awaited  from  the  north  had 
been     bad.       It    was    abundantly     clear    that    the    step 


354  HENRIETTA   MARIA 

taken  by  the  King  in  placing  himself  in  the  hands  of 
the  Scottish  army  had  proved  a  failure,  and  by  May 
he  was,  according  to  his  own  account  of  the  matter, 
no  better  than  a  prisoner.  In  the  letter  giving  an 
account  of  his  position  he  also  distinctly  expressed  his 
opinion  that  it  was  unsafe  for  the  Prince  to  remain 
in  Jersey,  and  directed  his  wife  to  send  for  him  to 
Paris  with  all  speed,  "  and  in  God's  name  let  him  stay 
with  thee  till  it  be  seen  what  ply  my  business  will 
take,  and  for  my  sake  let  the  world  see  that  the  Queen 
seeks  not  to  alter  his  conscience." 

With  her  hands  strengthened  by  this  command,  no 
fault  can  be  found  with  Henrietta  for  evincing  a  more 
fixed  resolve  than  before  to  carry  her  point.  Jermyn, 
with  a  numerous  train,  was  despatched  to  fetch  the 
Prince,  carrying  her  positive  orders  in  a  letter  to  her 
son  and  given  in  the  King's  name,  that  he  should  join 
her  without  further  delay.  Even  under  these  circum- 
stances the  Prince  was  not  allowed  to  leave  the  island 
without  hot  debate  amongst  the  members  of  his  council  ; 
and  when  the  boy  had  shown  his  determination  to  yield 
obedience  to  the  Queen's  demands,  all  but  one  of 
them  declined  to  accompany  him  to  Paris,  the  rest 
remaining  for  the  most  part  in  Jersey  and  watching  from 
thence  the  course  of  events. 

The  distrust  with  which  these  men — some  of  the 
King's  most  loyal  supporters — regarded  not  only  the 
French  Government,  but  Jermyn  himself,  and  by  im- 
plication the  Queen,  is  proved  by  a  document  preserved 
amongst  the  Clarendon  papers,  containing  ii  articles  of 
association  "  between  Hyde  himself,  Hopton,  Capel,  and 
Carteret,  for  the  defence  of  Jersey  against  a  supposed 
design  entertained  by  Jermyn  to  surrender  it  for  a  certain 
sum  of  money  to  France,  a  French  dukedom  being  the 


THE   PRINCE   IN   PARIS  355 

reward  allotted  to  the  intermediary.  That  Jermyn 
should  have  been  credited  with  the  scheme,  upon  the 
report  of  "  a  worthy  lady  at  Saint-Germain,"  and  *'  a 
discreet  and  knowing  gentleman  in  Paris,"  is  evidence 
sufficient  of  the  estimation  in  which  he  was  held,  and 
explains  the  extreme  reluctance  displayed  in  obeying  the 
explicit  commands  of  King  and  Queen  and  permitting 
their  charge  to  join  his  mother.  But  the  matter  had 
been  taken  out  of  their  hands,  and  by  the  end  of  June 
Henrietta  and  her  son  were  together  at  the  Louvre. 

If  Clarendon  is  to  be  believed,  the  Prince  was 
received  with  but  scant  courtesy  on  the  part  of  his  hosts. 
It  is  possible  that,  though  it  had  been  important  in 
Mazarin's  eyes  that  the  heir  to  the  English  throne  should 
seek  shelter  on  French  soil  rather  than  elsewhere,  he  was 
not  unwilling  to  conciliate  public  opinion  in  England  by 
testifying  some  lack  of  cordiality  towards  the  refugee. 
Charles  had,  at  all  events,  been  in  Paris  two  months  before 
he  was  accorded  a  reception  at  court,  the  interval  being 
apparently  spent  in  discussions  upon  the  ceremonial  to 
be  observed  on  the  occasion.  "  It  can  hardly  be 
believed,"  asserts  Clarendon,  "  with  how  little  respect 
they  treated  him."  On  the  other  hand,  since  it  appears 
that  Henrietta,  founding  her  extravagant  demand  upon 
the  etiquette  observed  on  the  visit  of  his  father  to  Spain, 
had  desired  that  her  son  should  take  precedence  of  King 
Louis  himself,  it  will  be  seen  that  some  difficulty  might 
be  experienced  in  satisfying  her  expectations. 

At  Fontainebleau  the  Prince  was  at  length  presented 
to  the  Queen-Regent  and  the  King.  All  that  was 
possible  had  been  done  to  conciliate  Henrietta,  and  on 
his  first  visit  of  ceremony  he  was  given,  according  to 
the  arrangements  agreed  upon  between  the  two  Queens, 
the  honour  of  a  fauteuil.  Dignity  having  been  thus 
vol.  11.  4 


356  HENRIETTA   MARIA 

satisfied,  a  compromise  was  effected,  and  on  future  occa- 
sions both  Charles  and  his  little  cousin  occupied  petits 
sieges.  Despite  the  difficulties  connected  with  etiquette, 
the  three  days'  visit  to  the  French  court  must  have  pre- 
sented a  pleasant  contrast  to  the  life  Charles  had  lately- 
led.  He  was  at  this  time  a  tall,  well-grown  lad  of  fifteen, 
dark-complexioned,  black-haired,  and  dark-eyed.  His 
mouth,  like  his  mother's,  was  bad,  but  his  head  finely 
shaped,  and  his  gravity  of  demeanour  impressed  beholders. 
"  II  paroist  estre  fort  serieux,"  observed  d'Ormesson  in 
his  journal.  On  the  whole  the  Prince  appears  to  have 
produced  a  favourable  impression  at  court,  in  spite  of 
his  inability — a  singular  one  when  his  mother's  nation- 
ality is  taken  into  account — either  to  understand  the 
French  language  or  to  make  himself  understood  in  it. 
During  the  days  spent  at  Fontainebleau  all  that  was 
possible  was  done  for  his  entertainment.  A  ball  was 
given  in  his  honour  and  that  of  his  mother,  and  the 
presence  of  his  cousin,  Mademoiselle,  will  have  supplied 
an  additional  element  of  interest.  The  marriage  nego- 
tiations with  Holland  had  collapsed  ;  and  though 
Henrietta  seems  to  have  had  at  this  time  no  less  than 
three  possible  brides  in  view,  there  can  be  little  doubt 
that,  in  point  of  fortune,  Mademoiselle  would  have  been 
the  most  eligible.  The  Queen  had  prepared  the  way 
by  despatching  a  portrait  of  her  niece  to  Charles  in 
Jersey,  and  she  lost  no  time,  now  that  he  was  at  hand, 
in  pushing  forward  the  affair. 

"  I  perceived,"  wrote  Mademoiselle,  "  that  the  Queen 
of  England  would  have  liked  to  persuade  me  that  he 
was  in  love  with  me ;  that  he  talked  of  it  incessantly  ; 
that,  had  she  not  prevented  it,  he  would  have  come  to 
my  apartment  at  all  hours  ;  that  he  found  me  entirely 
to  his  taste,  and  was  in  despair  at  the  Empress's  death, 


THE   KING'S   LETTERS  357 

being  extremely  apprehensive  that  they  would  marry  me 
to  the  Emperor.  I  received  what  she  said  as  I  ought 
to  do,"  adds  Mademoiselle,  "  and  did  not  put  all  the 
faith  in  it  that  she  would  perhaps  have  desired.  ...  I 
do  not  know  what  would  have  been  the  result  had  he 
himself  spoken.  I  know  well  that  I  should  not  make 
great  account  of  what  I  was  told  on  behalf  of  a  man  who 
could  say  nothing  for  himself." 

Considering  that  the  man  in  question  was  a  boy  of 
sixteen,  labouring  under  the  disadvantage  of  an  entire 
ignorance  of  her  language,  it  will  be  confessed  that  the 
contempt  his  cousin  displayed  at  his  failure  to  plead  his 
own  cause  shows  overmuch  severity. 

Into  the  comedy  of  scenes  such  as  these  and  others, 
with  their  petty  vanities  and  ambitions  and  rivalries,  the 
letters  constantly  reaching  Henrietta  from  the  King  must 
have  broken  like  importunate  tragedy.  "  Albeit  thou 
dost  hear  that  I  am  strangely  and  barbarously  threatened," 
wrote  Charles  towards  the  end  of  July,  "  for  God's  sake 
be  not  disheartened  ;  for  I  do  not  believe  that  the  Scots 
dare  do  what  they  say,  for  already  they  begin  to  be 
more  calm.  And  though  the  worst  should  come,  yet 
I  conjure  thee  to  turn  thy  grief  into  a  just  revenge  upon 
mine  enemies,  and  the  re-possessing  of  Prince  Charles 
into  his  just  inheritance."  The  King's  longing  for  the 
approval  of  the  woman  he  loved  is  repeated  again  and 
again  in  tones  which  would  have  come  near  to  making 
many  in  her  position  forswear  their  true  opinions.  "  In- 
deed, it  would  have  broken  my  heart,"  he  wrote  in 
August,  "  if  thou  hadst  thought  me  wilful,  as  every  one 
here  doth."  Again,  on  the  last  day  of  the  same  month, 
he  makes  a  passionate  protest  against  further  pressure 
being  brought  to  induce  him  to  abandon  what  to  him 
was   a  matter   of  conscience.     "  The   Queen   will    break 


358  HENRIETTA   MARIA 

my  heart,"  he  writes,  using,  as  he  sometimes  does,  the 
third  person  in  addressing  her,  "  if  she  any  more  under- 
take to  obtain  my  consent  for  Presbyterian  government. 
For  if  she  once  should  openly  condemn  me  for  wilful- 
ness, but  in  one  point,  I  should  not  be  able  to  support 
my  daily  miseries."  In  yet  another  letter  he  explains, 
patiently  and  at  length,  the  reasons  forbidding  him  to 
yield  on  the  question  at  issue,  hoping  that,  by  con- 
vincing her,  he  will  have  "  this  comfort,  that  I  shall 
not  be  in  any  kind  lessened  in  thy  opinion,  which  is 
the  only  thing  that  can  make  him  truly  miserable  who 
is  eternally  thine." 

It  is  easy  to  discern  weakness  in  the  craving  dis- 
played for  his  wife's  approbation,  as  well  as  in  the 
eagerness  shown  to  defer  to  her  lightest  wishes  in  matters, 
great  or  small,  in  which  he  was  able  to  do  so  without 
an  abandonment  of  principle.  But  it  has  another  and 
a  pathetic  side,  when  his  position  at  the  time — in  the 
enemy's  camp,  surrounded  by  foes,  misjudged  by  many 
friends,  and  practically  alone — is  taken  into  account. 
To  incur  the  condemnation  of  the  one  person  whose 
approval  or  blame  meant  more  to  him  than  that  of  all 
the  world  beside,  added  the  last  drop  of  bitterness  to 
his  cup.  Nor  can  it  be  doubted,  reading  the  few 
letters  of  Henrietta's  of  this  period  preserved,  that  in 
spite  of  her  love  for  him,  the  frank  and  unsparing 
expression  of  her  opinions  must  have  not  seldom  con- 
tributed to  that  end.  Concessions  were  wrung  from 
Charles  regarded  by  the  Queen  as  fatal  to  ultimate 
success,  and  she  did  not  fail  to  tell  him  so.  "  I  know 
the  pains  you  are  suffering,"  she  wrote,  when  the 
possibility  of  such  compliance  was  in  question,  "  and 
so  great  is  my  compassion  that  it  causes  me  suffering 
no    less    than    your    own.       But    since   we    have    thus 


DIFFERENCES   OF   KING   AND    QUEEN     359 

suffered,  we   must   resolve   to  go  through  with   it  with 
honour." 

It  is  only  necessary  to  be  acquainted  with  the 
provisions  contained  in  the  instructions  drawn  up  by 
the  Queen  and  Digby  for  Bellievre — instructions  practi- 
cally superseded  by  Mazarin's  own — to  understand  the 
impossibility  of  reconciling  the  course  advocated  by 
Henrietta  with  Charles'  views  of  right  and  wrong. 
Presbyterianism,  according  to  this  memorandum,  was 
to  be  conceded,  with  the  object  of  throwing  the  con- 
cession as  an  apple  of  discord  between  those  professing 
that  creed,  English  and  Scotch,  and  the  party  of  Inde- 
pendents. Control  of  the  militia  was  to  be  temporarily 
ceded.  The  Act  preventing  the  dissolution  of  the  existing 
Parliament  was  to  be  exchanged  for  a  Triennial  Act. 
The  Scots  were  to  be  induced  to  join  with  Montrose 
and  to  endorse  the  Irish  treaty.  Charles'  conscience 
and  opinions  alike  would  have  barred  the  way  to  an 
accommodation  based  on  these  foundations.  "  If  I  know 
anything  of  the  King's  heart  and  nature,"  wrote  Hyde, 
alluding  to  the  plan  by  conceding  a  principle  to  pro- 
duce dissension  in  the  enemy's  camp,  "  he  will  not 
redeem  the  lives  of  his  wife  and  children  at  the  price." 
And  the  Chancellor  was  right. 

The  policy  actually  pursued  by  Charles,  wavering  and 
uncertain  and  disconnected,  could  not  but  rouse  Hen- 
rietta, determined  and  resolute,  to  irritation  ;  and,  in 
particular,  his  ultimate  offer  to  surrender  the  moot-point 
of  Church  government  for  three  years  was  characterised 
by  her  as  too  little  or  too  much — too  much  were  it 
indeed  against  his  conscience,  too  little  to  satisfy  his 
enemies.  Under  these  circumstances  the  Queen's  letters 
must  not  unfrequently  have  added  to  the  bitterness  of 
Charles'    position.     Yet   the  suggestion   of  a   possibility 


360  HENRIETTA    MARIA 

that  she  might  cease  from  interference  in  his  affairs 
elicited  more  than  once  from  him  an  impassioned  pro- 
test. "  For  God's  sake,"  he  wrote  to  her  on  one 
occasion,  "  leave  off  threatening  me  with  thy  desire  to 
meddle  no  more  with  business  ;  and  albeit  I  am  confident 
thou  dost  not  really  intend,  because  I  am  sure  thou 
canst  not  in  any  kind  forsake  me  (of  which  this  were 
a  sort)  or  leave  to  love  me,  as  thou  lovest  me  give 
me  so  much  comfort  (and  God  knows  I  have  little 
enough  and  that  little  must  come  from  thee)  as  to 
assure  me  that  thou  wilt  think  no  more  of  any  such 
thing  otherwise  than  to  reject  it." 

But  it  is  in  a  letter  addressed  to  Jermyn,  Culpepper, 
and  Ashburnham  that  the  most  vivid  picture  is  to  be 
found  of  the  King's  condition  of  mind  at  this  time,  and 
that  the  sharpest  note  of  anguish  is  sounded.  These 
men,  like  the  Queen,  were  urging  upon  him  a  course 
which  conscience  forbade  him  to  adopt.  In  replying  to 
them  he  practises  no  economy  of  truth. 

"  Instruct  yourselves  better,"  he  wrote  sternly,  "  and 
undeceive  those  ye  have  misinformed,  for  believe  me 
there  is  need  ....  Only  one  particular  I  must  mention, 
wherewith  Davenant  hath  threatened  me,  which  is  [the 
Queen's]  retiring  from  all  business  into  a  monastery. 
This,  if  it  fell  out  (which  God  forbid)  is  so  destructive 
to  all  my  affairs — I  say  no  more  of  it  ;  my  heart  is  too 
big.  ...  In  another  way  I  have  mentioned  this  to  [the 
Queen]  (my  grief  being  the  only  thing  I  desire  to  conceal 
from  her,  with  which  I  am  as  full  now  as  I  can  be 
without  bursting),  commanding  you  to  remember  her, 
to  answer  me,  and  to  help  to  conceal  my  sorrow  from 
her  as  much  as  may  be  ;  which  will  be  some  ease  to 
it,  that  of  itself  is  so  great  as  were  not  to  be  borne 
but    for  the    great   cordial   of  her    daily    expressions    of 


ESCAPE   OF   HENRIETTE-ANNE         361 

kindness    to  me,  and  that  in  this  way  I  find  some  vent 
for  it." 

In  after  days,  when  her  son  and  his  advisers  were 
jealous  of  the  suspicion  that  Henrietta's  influence  was 
still  dominant,  she  must  have  looked  back  with  bitterness 
to  the  time  when  the  mere  dread  of  her  withdrawal  from 
public  affairs  could  call  forth  so  impassioned  a  protest. 
There  was,  in  truth,  no  real  reason  to  apprehend  that 
vexation,  irritation,  or  weariness  would  cause  her  to  cease 
from  labouring  in  the  King's  service.  Nor  were  there 
wanting  passages  in  her  letters  calculated  to  afford  him 
gleams  of  consolation  in  the  surrounding  darkness. 
"  Thy  love,"  he  writes,  in  reply  to  one  of  these — "  thy 
love  preserves  my  life,  and  I  tell  thee  that  those  words 
of  thine,  '  tout  ira  bien  a  la  fin '  and  '  nous  encore,' 
did  extremely  cheer  me,  because  I  hope  the  Queen  had 
some  reason  to  write  it,  besides  her  desire  of  comfort- 
ing me." 

Whatever  Henrietta's  hopes  may  have  been,  it  must 
have  been  a  melancholy  summer  and  autumn.  The  one 
bright  spot  in  it,  besides  the  presence  of  her  son,  was  the 
arrival  from  England  in  July  of  the  baby  daughter  left 
behind  two  years  ago  at  Exeter.  The  child's  governess, 
Lady  Dalkeith,  was  a  woman  of  courage  and  resource  ; 
and  disguising  herself  and  her  charge  in  beggar's  rags,  she 
had  succeeded  in  gaining  the  sea-coast  and  crossing 
from  Dover  to  Calais,  the  identity  of  little  "  Peter  "  with 
the  King's  youngest  daughter  remaining  unsuspected. 
When  she  was  once  on  French  soil  the  child  was  safe, 
and  was  speedily  placed  in  the  hands  of  her  mother  ;  who, 
says  her  attendant  Capuchin,  Pere  Cyprian  de  Gamache, 
regarding  her  as  "  un  enfant  de  benediction,"  resolved 
forthwith  to  use  all  her  efforts  to  gain  the  King's  consent 
to  bring  her  up  as  a  Catholic.     There  is  no  indication 


362  HENRIETTA   MARIA 

that  his  consent  was  obtained,  but,  if  it  were  not, 
Henrietta  appears  to  have  decided  to  dispense  with  it. 
The  same  writer  presently  records  that  the  Queen  led 
the  child  to  the  chapel  at  the  Louvre,  where  he  was 
engaged  in  giving  instruction  to  the  children,  liking 
the  catechising  so  well  that  she  was  overheard  to  observe 
that  she  should  herself  attend  it  for  the  future.  This 
resolution,  remarks  Pere  Cyprian  with  a  touch  of  acri- 
mony, was  not  carried  out,  being  set  aside  by  persons 
who  had  neither  her  zeal  nor  her  humility. 

Besides  the  distraction  afforded  by  the  society  of  her 
little  daughter,  Henrietta  was  finding  occupation  in  her 
plans  for  her  son's  future.  The  season  was  a  gay  one 
in  Paris,  and  at  the  Palais  Royal,  where  the  French 
court  was  held  at  the  time,  frequent  dramatic  per- 
formances, attended  both  by  Prince  Charles  and  by 
Mademoiselle  de  Montpensier,  supplied  opportunities 
for  constant  intercourse  between  the  cousins,  Charles 
showing  no  lack  of  willingness  to  do  what  in  him  lay 
to  secure  the  heiress  and  her  fortune.  It  was  a  certain 
ball,  given  in  honour  of  Mademoiselle  herself,  that  seems 
to  have  left  the  most  vivid  impression  on  Mademoiselle's 
mind.  On  this  occasion  Henrietta  had  devoted  herself 
personally  to  the  adornment  of  her  niece,  going  so 
far  as  to  visit  her  apartment  in  order  to  arrange  her 
hair  with  her  own  hands  ;  whilst  the  Prince,  wearing 
his  cousin's  colours  of  black,  white,  and  pink,  held 
a  torch  to  light  his  mother  at  her  labour  of  love. 
Nor  was  this  all ;  for  when  the  Regent,  aware  of  what 
was  going  on,  had  sent  for  Mademoiselle  in  order  that 
she  might  inspect  the  result  of  Henrietta's  skill,  the  Prince 
of  Wales  took  the  opportunity  to  steal  a  march  upon 
his  cousin,  and,  arriving  first  at  the  ball,  was  found 
awaiting  her  there  and  ready  to  hand  her  from  her  coach. 


A   BALL    IN    PARIS  363 

"  Before  entering  the  assembly,"  pursues  Mademoiselle, 
"  I  delayed  in  a  room  to  re-arrange  my  hair  before  the 
mirror,  and  it  was  again  he  who  held  the  torch  "  ;  adding, 
with  a  natural  touch  of  scepticism,  that,  according  to  his 
cousin,  Prince  Robert,  who  served  as  interpreter,  the 
Prince,  in  spite  of  his  ignorance  of  the  French  language, 
understood  all  that  fell  from  her  lips. 

The  "  Robert  "  present  at  this  scene,  and  evidently 
engaged  in  furthering  his  cousin's  suit,  was  Rupert,  who 
now,  like  so  many  others,  had  found  his  way  to  Paris, 
forgiven  by  the  King  and  commended  by  him  to 
Henrietta's  favour  ;  "  for  albeit  his  passions  may  sometimes 
make  him  mistake,"  said  Charles,  "  yet  I  am  confident 
of  his  honest  constancy  and  courage."  He  might  well 
be  confident  of  it.  Rupert's  steadfastness  in  adhering 
to  a  declining  cause  shone  the  more  in  contrast  with  the 
self-seeking  of  his  elder  brother,  who,  having  taken  the 
Covenant,  was  now  high  in  favour  with  the  Parliamentary 
army. 

As  Henrietta  played  with  her  name-child,  or  strove 
to  further  her  boy's  suit,  she  must  have  been  sore 
enough  at  heart.  At  Newcastle  the  hopes  of  an  agree- 
ment with  the  Scots  were  becoming  less  and  less,  and 
Charles'  prospects  were  darkening  in  proportion.  His 
future  plans  were  subjects  of  anxious  discussion  at  the 
Louvre.  In  December  Henrietta  sent  him  her  advice 
concerning  them  in  a  letter  from  Jermyn  and  Culpepper, 
she  herself  being  disabled  by  toothache  from  writing. 
Should  the  Scotch  forsake  him,  it  was  her  opinion  and 
the  Cardinal's  that,  if  Parliament  would  not  guarantee 
his  safety  in  London,  he  should  either  cross  the  border 
with  the  Scotch,  or,  if  that  were  to  be  refused  him, 
should  repair  to  Ireland,  the  Highlands,  or  Jersey,  only 
leaving  his  own  dominions  at  the  last  extremity.      It  did 


364  HENRIETTA   MARIA 

not  yet  seem  to  have  occurred  to  Charles'  counsellors  that 
this  last  alternative  might  not  be  open  to  him.  By 
January  a  letter  from  the  King  must  have  made  them 
aware  of  the  true  state  of  the  case.  He  then  wrote  to 
tell  his  wife  that  he  was  now  declared  to  be,  what  he 
had  been  in  fact  ever  since  he  had  placed  himself  in  the 
hands  of  the  Scottish  army,  a  prisoner — the  principal 
difference  being  that  escape,  before  easy  enough,  would 
be  difficult,  if  not  impossible. 

The  presence  of  the  King  in  Ireland  being  out  of 
the  question,  the  inquiry  appears  to  have  been  raised 
whether  it  would  not  be  well  for  the  Queen  and  her  son 
to  visit  that  portion  of  the  kingdom.  The  project  was 
probably  only  entertained  one  week  to  be  rejected  the 
next,  but  it  finds  mention  in  a  letter  from  Hyde  to 
the  Lord  Treasurer,  Cottington.  He  heard,  the  Chan- 
cellor wrote,  that  the  Queen  sometimes  spoke  of  a 
journey  to  Ireland,  sometimes  of  a  monastery — which 
would  be  far  the  better  choice  of  the  two.  As  for  the 
Prince,  he  could  only  interpret  the  desire  expressed  by 
Cottington  that  the  lad  should  accompany  his  mother, 
should  she  make  the  journey,  as  due  to  the  wish  that  he 
should  at  all  costs  be  removed  from  France.  If  the 
explanation  was  the  true  one,  the  Lord  Treasurer's 
desire  was  fully  shared  by  the  Chancellor.  Though 
finding  some  comfort  in  the  conviction  that  the  heir- 
apparent  had  "  a  sweetness  of  nature  not  easy  to  be 
corrupted,"  his  longing  that  the  boy  should  be  removed 
from  Paris  equalled  the  reluctance  he  had  displayed  that 
he  should  be  permitted  to  join  his  mother  there.  The 
reported  project  of  a  marriage  with  his  cousin  added 
to  the  uneasiness  with  which  his  residence  at  the  Louvre 
was  regarded.  Fears  of  such  a  scheme  had  been  felt 
before    the    Prince    left    Jersey  ;    but    when    Hyde    had 


QUARRELS   AT   COURT  365 

talked  sadly  with  my  Lord  Jermyn  on  the  subject, 
he  had  been  met  by  the  assurance  that  there  was  no 
such  thought,  and  that,  should  the  match  be  attempted, 
Jermyn  himself  would  publicly  oppose  it.  By  March, 
however,  he  confessed  himself  by  no  means  certain  that 
the  rumours  concerning  it  might  not  be  true.  It  has 
been  seen  that  he  was  right. 

It  must  have  taxed  all  Henrietta's  powers  to  keep 
the  peace  amongst  the  quarrelsome  and  turbulent  spirits 
at  her  court.  The  brawl  reported  to  have  taken  place 
in  her  very  ante-chamber  has  been  mentioned.  Again, 
notwithstanding  a  solemn  reconciliation  a  year  earlier, 
Digby  and  Wilmot  are  to  meet  in  a  duel.  And  whilst 
this  meeting  is  pending,  Digby  receives  a  second  challenge, 
and  eager  to  "  receive  that  honour  unto  which  Prince 
Rupert  had  so  generously  called  him," — of  fighting  a 
prince  of  the  blood  royal — falls  out  with  Jermyn  for 
attempting  to  interpose.  In  the  end,  principals  and 
seconds  are  arrested  by  the  Queen's  guard,  and  the 
quarrel  is  ended  without  bloodshed,  Wilmot,  fighting 
Digby  in  his  turn,  escaping  with  no  more  serious  mishap 
than  a  wound  in  his  hand. 

If  Henrietta  exerted  herself  to  maintain  peace  at  the 
Louvre,  certain  proceedings  of  her  own  were  likely  to 
have  an  opposite  effect.  In  the  present  condition  of 
public  affairs,  not  to  speak  of  her  own  domestic  cares, 
it  might  have  been  imagined  that  she  had  her  hands  full. 
It  was,  nevertheless,  about  this  time  that  she  was  risking 
the  alienation  of  an  important  adherent  by  interference  in 
a  matter  she  would  more  prudently  have  left  to  be  decided 
by  lawyers.  This  was  the  succession  to  the  property  of 
a  dead  brother  of  Lady  Derby's.  Lady  Derby  was  a 
countrywoman  of  Henrietta's  own,  belonging  to  the  great 
Huguenot  house  of  Tremoille  ;  and  upon  the  death  of 


366  HENRIETTA   MARIA 

her  brother,  the  Comte  de  Laval,  a  lady  connected  with 
the  Queen's  nurse  came  forward,  on  the  grounds  of  an 
alleged  marriage,  to  lay  claim  to  the  inheritance.  The 
dispute  was  clearly  one  to  be  legally  settled,  and  the 
services  rendered  by  Lord  Derby  to  the  Royalist  cause, 
as  well  as  the  fact  that  a  dependant  of  her  own  was 
interested  in  the  decision,  should  have  been  sufficient 
to  deter  the  Queen  from  seeking  to  interfere  with  the 
course  of  justice.  Yet  she  openly  espoused  the  cause 
of  the  claimant  in  opposition  to  the  Stanley  family.  The 
letters  in  which  Lady  Derby  gave  an  account  of  the  affair 
furnish  a  curious  picture  of  Henrietta's  high-handed 
mode  of  precedure  on  a  similar  occasion  in  the  past, 
and  the  terms  in  which  so  ardent  a  loyalist  permits 
herself  to  allude  to  the  King's  wife  bear  witness  to 
the  bitterness  roused  by  her  present  action. 

"  It  is  with  great  astonishment  that  I  have  read 
the  proceedings  of  the  Queen  of  England  in  connection 
with  our  law-suit,"  wrote  Lady  Derby.  "  By  what  I  can 
see,  she  has  done  more  harm  to  herself  than  to  us, 
and  every  one  is  ashamed  of  her."  "  Her  Majesty  does 
not  remember,"  she  says  again,  "  how  by  her  own 
authority  she  annulled  a  marriage  that  had  been  con- 
tracted by  the  sister  of  La  Harpe  and  one  of  the  nephews 
of  her  nurse,  and  how  she  threatened  an  Irish  priest 
with  hanging  for  having  officiated  in  such  an  affair." 
Notwithstanding  Henrietta's  intervention,  the  law  decided 
against  the  claims  of  her  protegee,  and  the  affair  would 
only  have  had  the  result  of  creating  or  increasing  a 
feeling  of  distrust  towards  the  Queen  amongst  those 
connected  with  the  powerful  house  of  Stanley. 

It  was  not  a  time  when  it  was  well  to  ride  rough- 
shod over  the  susceptibilities  of  the  King's  loyal  servants. 
The  general  outlook  must  have  seemed  dark  indeed  to 


CONDITION   OF   THE   ROYAL   FAMILY     367 

Royalist  eyes.  The  King  was  a  prisoner.  His  second 
son,  James,  left  behind  by  his  father  at  Oxford,  had 
fallen  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy.  And  in  London 
the  Princess  Elizabeth  was  a  captive,  as  well  as  her  little 
brother,  the  Duke  of  Gloucester,  of  whom  it  was  at 
one  time  reported  that  Parliament  intended  to  make  a 
provisional  king,  pending  the  establishment  of  a  re- 
public. 


CHAPTER    XVIII 

1647 — 1649 

Charles  handed  over  to  the  Parliament — Difficulty  of  communication — 
Affairs  in  Paris — The  Prince's  position  there — Improvement  in  the 
King's  condition — Paris — The  Prince  of  Wales  and  his  cousins — An 
expedition  planned — Disturbances  in  Paris — Collapse  of  the  Royalist 
rising — Hyde  and  the  Queen — Charles  in  the  Isle  of  Wight — The 
Queen's  appeal — His  execution. 

BY  the  end  of  January,  1647,  the  Scottish  bargain  with 
the  Parliament  had  been  concluded,  and  Charles 
had  been  handed  over  to  the  custody  of  the  English 
commissioners,  in  whose  keeping  he  remained  until  the 
army  gained  possession  of  his  person  in  June.  During  the 
interval  he  remained,  closely  guarded,  at  Holmby  House, 
so  strictly  secluded  from  communication  with  his  friends 
that  a  scheme  of  pacification,  devised  by  the  Presbyterian 
peers  in  January  and  sent  to  the  Queen,  to  be  forwarded 
with  her  approbation  of  Charles,  did  not  reach  him  till 
April. 

Henrietta  probably  thought  less  of  the  chances  of 
the  settlement  thus  suggested  than  of  plans  and  hopes 
of  her  own  by  which  her  mind  was  at  the  moment 
occupied.  A  necessary  preliminary  to  any  effective  assist- 
ance to  be  supplied  by  France  was  the  conclusion  of  the  war 
being  carried  on  upon  the  Continent,  and  the  Queen 
was  therefore  exerting  herself  to  the  utmost  to  induce 
the  Regent  to  make  peace.  A  letter  written  by  her  in 
May  to  Pope   Innocent  X.    is  illustrative  of  the  energy 

368 


HENRIETTA   AT   WORK  369 

she  displayed  in  enlisting  the  sympathy  of  allies,  spiritual 
as  well  as  terrestrial,  on  the  Royalist  side.  Certain 
kings  of  England,  she  told  his  Holiness,  had  held  in 
special  veneration  Father  Robert  d'Abruissel,  consulting 
him  on  matters  of  importance  to  the  Crown  :  "  I  therefore 
hold  it  to  be  incumbent  on  me  to  do  everything  in  my 
power  to  procure  that  all  the  faithful  should  acknow- 
ledge him  as  a  saint."  She  accordingly  urged  the  Pope 
to  proceed  to  the  canonisation  of  this  trusty  counsellor, 
"  in  the  hope  that,  having  contributed  my  endeavours 
to  render  him  important  on  earth  after  his  death,  he 
may  obtain  in  heaven,  where  his  soul  reposes,  some 
favours  for  the  kingdom  which  he  served  with  so  much 
fidelity  during  his  life." 

Meantime,  ways  and  means  had  been  found  of 
keeping  up  fitful  communication  with  the  King.  A 
Colonel  Bamfield  had  been  the  medium  through  whom 
Charles  had  been  at  length  made  acquainted  with  the 
propositions  of  the  Presbyterian  lords  ;  and  in  May 
Major  Bosvile  was  arrested  on  the  charge  of  conveying 
letters  from  the  Queen  to  her  husband.  Interrogated 
as  to  their  contents,  he  gave  an  account  palpably  intended 
to  propitiate  public  opinion.  The  Queen,  he  said,  had 
desired  her  husband  to  seek  his  rights  and  privileges, 
and  to  secure  a  peace,  even  though  she  herself  might 
never  return  to  England.  She  had  likewise  expressed 
detestation  of  the  war  proclaimed  by  the  Irish  ;  had 
craved  permission  for  the  Prince  of  Wales  to  accompany 
her  brother  and  the  other  nobles  belonging  to  the  French 
court  to  the  war  ;  and  had  described  a  ball  where  her 
son,  dancing  with  Mademoiselle,  had  "exceeded  all  the 
other  gallants." 

The  King,  questioned  as  to  the  nature  of  the  papers 
he    had    received,     answered     with    spirit    that    he    was 


370  HENRIETTA   MARIA 

not  called  upon  to  give  a  reply  to  any  man  living  ; 
whilst  a  letter  subsequently  discovered — the  messenger 
being  in  this  case  "  a  handsome  lady  and  wondrous  bold  " 
— unlike  others  "  of  which  my  Lord  of  Southampton 
said  that  all  the  business  was  in  words  and  the  love 
in  figures,"  was  entirely  in  cipher,  and  yielded  little 
information  to  those  who  captured  it. 

At  Paris  and  Fontainebleau  the  usual  round  of  gaieties 
was  going  on,  in  which  Henrietta,  however  much  she 
may  have  been,  in  heart  and  spirit,  with  the  prisoner  at 
Holmby  House,  was  bound  to  play  her  part.  They 
will  at  least  have  afforded  her  opportunities  of  furthering 
what  might  by  courtesy  be  termed  her  son's  love- 
affair.  One  might  have  imagined  that  the  result  of  her 
daughter's  premature  marriage  would  have  acted  as  a 
warning  against  another  such  sacrifice  to  state-craft. 
Although  on  her  husband's  death,  some  few  years  later, 
Mary  appears  to  have  loyally  mourned  him,  the  match 
at  the  present  time  did  not  promise  to  prove  successful. 
Writing  to  Lord  Conway  from  Norgowe  and  giving 
a  description  of  the  Prince's  failings,  Sir  John  Conyers 
added  that  "  the  people  stick  not  to  say  publicly  that 
he  cares  not  a  whit  for  his  wife  .  .  .  and  'tis  pity  our 
Princess  hath  not  better  counsel  about  him."  It  was 
scarcely  to  be  expected  that  a  child  not  yet  fifteen 
should  steer  her  course  with  wisdom  ;  but  experience 
of  the  dangers  threatening  one  young  marriage  in  no 
wise  deterred  Henrietta  from  doing  her  best  to  effect 
another. 

Though  Anne  of  Austria  had  been  tormented  by 
scruples — instilled  by  the  cure  of  Saint-Germain — as  to 
the  lawfulness  of  theatrical  representations,  her  doubts 
had  been  removed  by  a  reference  to  the  doctors  of  the 
Sorbonne,  and  the  dramatic  entertainments  went  merrily 


THE    PRINCE   AND    HIS   COUSINS       371 

forward.  An  affair  of  the  kind,  marked  by  unusual 
magnificence,  took  place  on  the  Monday  before  Lent, 
when  Henrietta  contributed  to  her  niece's  adornment 
by  the  loan  of  such  of  her  jewels  as  still  remained 
unsold  and  out  of  pawn.  Though  diamonds  and  pearls 
belonging  to  the  crown  jewels  of  France  had  been 
added  by  the  Queen-Regent,  Mademoiselle  recorded 
with  complacency  that  those  were  not  wanting  who  told 
her,  "  assez  a  propos,"  that,  in  spite  of  the  magnificence 
of  her  ornaments,  her  natural  advantages — her  beautiful 
figure,  her  white  skin,  and  the  brightness  of  her  fair 
hair — were  no  less  decorative  than  the  jewels  she  wore. 
She  enjoyed  a  veritable  triumph.  A  species  of 
throne,  reached  by  steps,  had  been  erected  on  the  stage  ; 
and  the  eight-year-old  King,  declining  out  of  courtesy 
to  his  guest,  the  Prince  of  Wales,  to  occupy  it,  caused 
his  cousin  to  take  possession  of  the  seat,  he  himself,  with 
Charles,  sitting  on  the  steps  at  her  feet.  The  position 
thus  accorded  her  was  thoroughly  to  Mademoiselle's 
taste,  and  her  ease  and  composure  in  filling  it  were 
such  that  it  was  predicted,  she  says,  by  those  who  looked 
on,  that  a  time  would  come  when  she  would  be  seated 
upon  a  permanent  and  not  a  temporary  throne.  It  was 
not  a  moment  to  incline  her  to  regard  with  favour 
the  suit  of  the  boyish  exile,  and  she  adds  that,  filled 
with  the  thought  of  wedding  the  Emperor,  her  heart, 
as  well  as  her  eyes,  looked  down  "  de  haut  en  bas " 
upon  the  Prince,  considering  him  merely  in  the  light  of 
an  object  of  compassion. 

Notwithstanding  his  cousin's  contempt,  Charles  seems 
to  have  been  popular  at  the  French  court,  and  when, 
later  in  the  year,  he  paid  a  visit  to  Fontainebleau,  the 
improvement  in  his  appearance  was  noticed  with  approval. 
His  manners  were  probably  good.  Henrietta,  according 
vol.   11.  5 


372  HENRIETTA    MARIA 

to  Burnet,  in  training  her  boys,  had  paid  particular 
attention  to  this  point.  Having,  the  Bishop  says, 
observed  the  great  defects  of  her  husband's  breeding, 
"  and  the  stiff  roughness  that  was  in  him,  by  which  he 
disobliged  very  many,  and  did  often  prejudice  his  affairs 
very  much,"  she  had  set  herself  to  prevent  a  similar 
disadvantage  from  attaching  to  her  sons,  and  had  given 
strict  orders  that  they  should  be  trained  to  a  "  wonderful 
civility "  ;  with  the  result  that  the  elder,  when  he  came 
to  be  King,  was  civil  rather  to  an  excess,  with  a  softness 
and  gentleness  in  air  and  expression  that  had  a  charm 
in  it.  The  results  of  his  mother's  care  will  have  been 
appreciated  at  court.  With  regard  to  intelligence  it 
was  a  different  matter  ;  and  so  partial  a  witness  as 
Madame  de  Motteville  admits  that  at  this  date  the 
Prince  was  not  otherwise  than  dull — "  son  esprit  ne 
brilloit  pas."  His  position  was  partly  to  blame,  and 
may  also  have  been  the  reason  that,  in  spite  of  Louis' 
careful  courtesy,  the  elder  and  younger  lads  were  ill 
at  ease  together.  Notwithstanding  Charles'  careless  and 
debonnaire  temper,  the  contrast  between  his  fortunes  and 
his  cousin's  could  scarcely  fail  to  strike  him  with  a 
certain  bitterness,  and  their  intercourse  was  marked 
by  constraint  and  embarrassment.  Young  though  he 
was,  Louis  appears  to  have  been  sufficiently  alive  to  the 
dangers  of  speech  to  prefer  silence  ;  and  the  Prince- — 
aided,  perhaps,  by  his  imperfect  mastery  of  the  French 
language — followed  his  example. 

In  more  ways  than  one,  difficulties  must  have  attached 
to  Charles'  residence  in  Paris.  According  to  Clarendon, 
he  was  kept  in  a  state  of  subjection  to  his  mother  and 
discouraged  from  meddling  in  public  affairs.  In  matters 
of  finance  he  had  no  separate  income.  An  addition 
had   been  made  on  his  arrival  to   the  allowance  granted 


CHARLES    WITH    THE    ARMY  373 

to  Henrietta  by  the  French  court  ;  but  upon  the  grounds 
that  it  was  inconsistent  with  the  dignity  of  the  heir  to 
the  English  throne  to  be  a  pensioner  of  France,  the 
money  intended  for  his  support  was  included  in  the  sum 
paid  to  his  mother,  and  was  employed  as  she  thought 
fit,  passing  through  the  hands  of  Lord  Jermyn,  as  comp- 
troller of  all  her  expenditure.  A  condition  of  things 
was  thus  produced  certain  to  be  unfavourable  to  good 
feeling  between  the  members  of  the  Queen's  household 
and  the  Prince's  servants,  and  resulting  in  the  withdrawal 
of  many  of  the  last  from  Paris. 

Whilst   Henrietta    was   labouring    ceaselessly    in    the 
endeavour     to     obtain    assistance    for    the    King,    events 
in    England    had    assumed   a    more    encouraging    aspect. 
Charles'    transference   to    the    custody    of   the  army  had 
been  followed  by  substantial  amelioration  in  his  position. 
He   was   no  longer   debarred   from  the  society  of  those 
of  his    friends    who    cared    to    resort  to    him,    and  was 
permitted  the  ministrations  of  his  chaplains  ;  and  Fairfax's 
demeanour    raised     hopes    of    a    conciliatory  disposition 
on    the  part  of  the  military  leaders.      Under  these  cir- 
cumstances   Henrietta    decided  to  accept  an  offer   made 
by    Sir    John    Berkeley,    late    governor     of    Exeter,     to 
proceed    to    England     and    attach    himself    to     Charles' 
service,  in  the  hope  of  employing,  on  his  master's  behalf, 
the  credit  he  believed  himself  to  possess  with  the  rebel 
officers.      Carrying  with  him  a  recommendation  from   the 
Queen,     Berkeley    repaired     to     Charles,     and     obtained 
without  difficulty   permission    to    attend    upon    him.      It 
was,  indeed,  a  singular  coincidence,  that  Cromwell   and 
Fairfax,  casting  about  for  a  fitting  intermediary  between 
themselves    and    the     King,    had     determined     to    invite 
Berkeley  to  fill  that  post  at  the  very  time  that   Henri- 
etta was  despatching  him  from  Paris.     About  the  same 


374  HENRIETTA   MARIA 

date  Jack  Ashburnham,  who  had  accompanied  Charles 
to  the  Scotch  camp  and  had  thence  been  dismissed  by 
the  authorities,  gained  permission  to  resume  his  attend- 
ance upon  his  master.  These  two  men,  with  one 
other,  were  the  King's  companions  when,  some  months 
afterwards,  he  effected  his  escape  from  Hampton  Court, 
incurring  the  suspicion  of  treachery  by  the  blunder  they 
committed  in  consigning  him  to  the  keeping  of  Colonel 
Hammond. 

It  would   be   impossible   to   follow,   even    in   outline, 
the    progress    and    the    fluctuations    of  the    negotiations 
carried  on  through  the  ensuing  months  between  Charles, 
the  Parliament,  the  army,  and  the  Scotch,  each  opposed 
to  each,  and  each  in  turn  anxious  to  make  terms  with 
the    King.     It  cannot    be    doubted  that  at    this    period, 
Cromwell,  soon  to  be  supreme  arbiter  of  the  destinies  of 
England,  was  honestly  desirous  of  securing  a  settlement 
retaining  the  monarchy,  safe-guarded  and  controlled,  as 
a  part  of  the  constitution.     Again  and  again  his  influence 
was    opposed    to    more    violent    councils.      But    Charles 
was  incapable   of   grasping    the   situation   or  of  gauging 
the    limits  of  the    possibilities    remaining    open  to  him. 
The   history  of  the  summer  and  autumn  is  the  history 
of   the   realisation    by  all  parties  of   the    impracticability 
of  arriving  at  a  solid  and  lasting  agreement,  based  upon 
the  monarchical   principle  represented    by   him.     Mean- 
time he  continued  to  be  treated  with  consideration  and 
respect ;  and  above  all,  he  was  before  long  permitted  the 
pleasure  of  frequent  intercourse  with   the  three  children 
who  had  remained  in  the  hands  of  the   Parliament,   and 
were    now    brought    by    their    custodian,    the     Earl    of 
Northumberland,  to  his   own   house    in    the  neighbour- 
hood   of  Hampton    Court,  where    at    present    the   King 
was  residing. 


CHARLES    AND    HIS   CHILDREN        375 

Upon  each  of  the  three  Charles  impressed  the 
lessons  he  conceived  it  desirable  that  they  should  learn. 
To  the  elder  boy,  James,  he  gave  directions  that,  should 
his  father's  fortunes  take  a  turn  for  the  worse,  he  should 
endeavour  by  any  means  in  his  power  to  make  his 
escape  beyond  seas.  He  enjoined  upon  Elizabeth,  a 
thoughtful  child  of  twelve,  should  ill  befall  him,  never 
to  consent  to  be  bestowed  in  marriage  without  the 
approbation  of  her  mother  and  eldest  brother  ;  to  yield 
her  mother  obedience  in  all  things  save  religion,  and  on 
that  subject  never  to  listen  to  her  counsels.  To  little 
Gloucester,  not  more  than  seven  years  old,  and  to  whom 
father  and  mother  must  have  been  hitherto  scarcely 
more  than  a  name,  he  gave  strong  injunctions,  repeated 
at  their  last  interview  and  afterwards  shown  to  have 
sunk  deep  into  the  child's  mind,  never  to  abjure  the 
faith  in  which  he  had  been  bred,  nor  to  permit  him- 
self to  be  placed  upon  the  throne  so  long  as  either  of 
his  elder  brothers  were  alive. 

The  renewal  of  intercourse  with  his  children,  the 
society  of  his  friends  and  servants,  and  the  hopes,  un- 
certain though  they  might  be,  roused  by  the  demeanour 
of  the  army,  must  have  given  the  King  one  of  his  last 
breathing  spaces  before  the  doom  of  his  destiny  closed 
finally  around  him.  To  Henrietta's  sanguine  spirit  what 
had  been  already  gained  may  have  seemed  the  presage 
of  a  brighter  future  ;  and  even  when  hope  had  been 
overcast  by  the  King's  flight,  with  its  disastrous  sequel, 
affairs  in  England  remained  in  a  condition  to  stimulate 
her  to  fresh  efforts.  If  it  was  true  that  all  endeavours 
made  by  either  Presbyterians  or  Independents  to  arrive 
at  a  satisfactory  arrangement  with  the  King  had,  so  far, 
ended  in  failure,  it  was  also  certain  that,  when  1648 
opened,    a    strong   and    growing    Royalist    re-action    was 


376  HENRIETTA    MARIA 

affecting  not  the  country  alone,  but  the  city  ;  whilst  the 
dissensions  separating  the  various  bodies  in  the  State 
rendered  the  issue  of  a  struggle  in  which  the  Scotch 
should  join  hands  with  English  Royalists  increasingly 
doubtful.  Under  these  circumstances  Cromwell  continued 
anxious  to  come  to  terms  with  the  royal  house  ;  and  it 
is  considered  probable  that,  during  January,  negotiations 
had  been  opened  with  the  Queen  and  her  son  with  the 
object  of  placing  the  Prince  upon  the  throne.  Upon 
Charles  himself  there  was  a  paralysing  impossibility  of 
relying.  The  initial  likelihood,  common  to  all  such  cases, 
that  pledges  wrested  by  necessity  from  him  who  gives 
them  will  not  be  held  binding,  is  said  to  have  been 
confirmed  by  intercepted  letters.  But  this  evidence  was 
not  needed  ;  the  day  when  Charles  might  have  won 
trust  was  over.  The  scheme  of  substituting  the  son  for 
the  father  would,  however,  have  been  difficult  to  carry 
into  effect.  Charles'  loyal  supporters  would  not  have 
acquiesced  in  it,  and  Cromwell  would  have  found  it  hard,  at 
this  stage,  to  impose  the  Prince  upon  his  comrades.  Nor 
had  the  lad  any  inclination  to  entertain  the  suggestion. 

By  February  rumours  were  afloat  that  an  expedition, 
to  be  led  by  the  Prince,  was  in  preparation  ;  and  pressure 
was  brought  to  bear  upon  the  States-General  to  induce 
them  to  refuse  aid  or  facilities  for  borrowing  money  to 
the  Queen  and  her  son.  Edinburgh,  now  a  chief  centre 
of  agitation,  was  thronged  by  the  King's  adherents  ;  and 
by  the  end  of  March  it  had  been  announced  that  the 
Prince  would  be  ready,  on  receiving  the  assurance  that 
the  Scotch  would  take  up  arms,  to  repair  to  Scotland. 
As  early  as  January  it  had  been  determined  that  he 
should  proceed  to  Calais,  to  be  at  hand  in  case  of  need  ; 
but  delays  intervened,  and  it  was  not  till  June  that  he 
actually  left  Paris. 


THE   CHANCELLOR   AND   HENRIETTA       377 

It  must  have  been  a  time  of  intense  excitement  at 
Saint-Germain,  where  Henrietta  then  was.  Counsellors 
of  various  kinds  had  collected  round  her.  The  King's 
loyal  servant,  the  Marquis  of  Ormond,  was  in  Paris, 
eager  to  push  forward  Irish  schemes,  and,  like  others, 
learning  the  exact  value  of  the  Cardinal's  promises. 
Digby  was  likewise  at  hand,  as  he  was  certain  to  be 
when  adventurous  enterprises  were  in  question  ;  and, 
by  April,  Hyde  had  been  in  personal  communication 
with  the  Queen.  Applying  himself  to  his  literary  labours 
in  Jersey,  he  had  been  taking  no  part  in  public  affairs, 
recognising,  so  far,  the  uselessness  of  his  presence  in  Paris. 
In  a  despondent  letter  to  Lady  Dalkeith  he  had  expressed 
his  conviction  that,  were  he  at  hand,  the  Prince  would 
not  follow  his  counsels.  He  may  have  been  right.  But 
he  had,  nevertheless,  kept  a  watchful  eye  upon  what  was 
going  forward,  anxious  if  possible  to  regain  the  place 
in  his  mistress's  favour  forfeited  by  his  strenuous  en- 
deavours to  prevent  her  from  obtaining  possession  of  her 
son.  Was  he  the  only  man  living,  he  wrote  to  Digby, 
that  was  never  to  be  pardoned  ?  Let  his  friend  tell  him 
how  he  might  free  himself  from  the  insupportable  burden 
of  the  Queen's  displeasure. 

Later  on  he  learnt  to  bear  that  burden  with  a  fair 
amount  of  equanimity.  But  whilst  the  Royalist  hopes 
centred  in  the  restoration  to  power  of  a  king  devoted, 
body  and  soul,  to  his  wife,  her  favour  was  not  to  be 
lightly  foregone.  Even  had  it  been  otherwise,  now  that, 
with  active  schemes  on  foot,  the  Prince  was  in  need  of 
the  assistance  and  advice  of  his  father's  faithful  servants, 
Hyde  was  not  the  man  to  allow  personal  resentment 
to  stand  in  the  way  of  his  duty.  In  a  letter  addressed 
to  Henrietta,  he  gave  expression,  in  the  exaggerated 
terms    then    in    use,    to    his    sense    of    her    displeasure. 


378  HENRIETTA  MARIA 

The  fear  of  it,  he  said,  had  caused  him  more  affliction 
than  all  the  calamities  of  those  times.  To  give  her, 
willingly,  offence  he  would  always  think  too  great  a 
price  to  save  his  life. 

Henrietta  was  possibly  softened  by  the  Chancellor's 
abject  appeal.  She  was,  at  any  rate,  too  acute  not  to 
recognise  the  value  of  his  honesty  and  faithfulness, 
and  in  June  Digby  was  able  to  write  that  he  should 
before  then  have  received  a  kind  and  earnest  invitation 
from  Jermyn  to  Paris,  there  to  wait  upon  the  Prince — 
adding  that  he  would  now  do  better  to  hasten  to  Rouen, 
as  the  Prince  would  already  have  started  on  the  way 
to  Calais.  Hyde  for  his  part  returned  thanks,  through 
Jermyn,  to  Queen  and  Prince  for  the  great  favour 
of  their  commands,  adding  that  he  would  obey  the 
summons  as  soon  as  he  had  boots  to  put  on.  The 
quarrel  between  Queen  and  Chancellor  was,  for  the 
time,  at  an  end. 

Whilst  these  affairs  were  in  progress  abroad,  there 
had  followed  upon  Charles'  unsuccessful  endeavour  to 
effect  his  escape  from  Carisbrooke  another  attempt  at 
an  agreement  on  the  Independents'  part.  Whatever 
may  have  been  the  terms  offered,  it  has  been  believed  that 
they  were  accompanied  by  an  intimation  that  a  refusal 
would  be  followed  by  his  deposition  and  the  proclamation 
as  king  of  his  second  son.  In  any  case,  it  was  un- 
desirable that  James  should  remain  in  the  hands  of 
his  father's  enemies  ;  and  on  April  21st,  the  boy,  dressed 
in  woman's  clothes,  and  making,  it  is  said,  a  very  pretty 
girl,  effected  his  escape  from  St.  James'  Palace.  By 
the  23rd  he  was  safe  on  Dutch  soil,  and  had  received 
a  joyful  welcome  from  his  sister.  It  was  a  significant 
fact  that  at  St.  James'  his  flight  was  followed  by  the 
augmentation  of  the  household   of    the  little  brother  he 


From  the  picture  by  Hotltkorst  at  Hampton  Court. 

JAMES    II.    AS   DUKE   OF    YORK. 


ROYALIST   RISINGS  379 

had   left  behind   him,    the  only  one   of  the   King's   sons 
remaining  in  the  power  of  his  opponents. 

Meantime  the  hopes  of  the  Royalists  were  rising.  On 
May  1  st  a  formal  invitation  was  sent  to  the  Prince  of 
Wales  to  repair  to  Scotland.  Before  the  end  of  the 
month  a  portion  of  the  fleet  had  declared  for  the  King  ; 
Carlisle  and  Berwick  were  in  the  hands  of  his  partisans  ; 
Wales  was  in  arms  ;  and  unorganised  and  spontaneous 
risings  were  taking  place  in  other  parts  of  the  country, 
the  spirit  of  Kent  in  particular  being  displayed  in  the 
enthusiastic  reception  given  at  Sandwich  to  an  impostor 
masquerading  as  the  Prince  of  Wales. 

The  zeal  of  the  Kentish  men  carried  them  on  too 
fast,  and  by  the  first  days  of  June  the  forces  prematurely 
gathered  together  under  the  Earl  of  Norwich  had  been 
dispersed  by  Fairfax.  On  the  other  hand,  Essex  had 
risen,  and  Fairfax's  troops  in  their  turn  experienced 
a  reverse.  When  the  Prince  of  Wales  quitted 
Saint-Germain  on  June  25th,  with  the  intention  of 
making  his  way,  via  Calais,  to  Holland,  Colchester  was 
blockaded  by  the  Independent  forces,  and  the  siege  was 
proceeding. 

The  Prince — as  usual  when  it  was  a  question  of  the 
fulfilment  of  promises  made  by  Mazarin — had  been 
disappointed  of  money  to  be  contributed  by  France 
towards  the  expenses  of  his  journey,  and  had  started  more 
thinly  attended  than  would  otherwise  have  been  the  case. 
All  the  available  privy  councillors  had,  nevertheless,  re- 
ceived orders  to  repair  to  Calais,  and  the  Lord  Treasurer, 
the  Earl  of  Bristol,  and  the  secretary,  Nicholas,  were  on 
their  way  thither.  A  fortnight  later  Jermyn  followed, 
Newcastle  also  leaving  Paris  for  Holland.  Thirty  thou- 
sand pounds  had  been  raised  by  the  Queen  upon  jewels 
still  unsold  ;   and,  thus  supplied  with  the  necessary  funds, 


380  HENRIETTA    MARIA 

Ormond  was    preparing    to    start    for    Ireland,   there    to 
attempt  to  carry  out  his  plans. 

In  Paris  Henrietta  remained,  lonely  and  anxious 
concerning  the  enterprise  upon  which  her  boy  had  set 
forth.  Other  and  more  sordid  cares  oppressed  her. 
"  Our  court  wants  money,"  wrote  Sir  Richard  Browne, 
British  Resident  in  Paris,  at  the  end  of  July,  "  and 
lives  very  quietly  at  Saint-Germain."  It  did  want 
money,  badly.  Some  three  weeks  after  the  parting 
of  mother  and  son,  Madame  de  Motteville,  with  a 
friend,  visited  Henrietta  at  the  Carmelite  convent  to 
which  she  had  temporarily  withdrawn.  The  Queen  was 
found  alone,  busily  engaged  in  writing  and  fastening 
up  her  letters  for  England.  When  this  had  been  done, 
she  turned  to  her  guests,  expressing  her  misgivings  as 
to  the  success  of  the  Prince's  expedition.  Then  she 
spoke  of  her  own  condition,  left  almost  without  means 
of  subsistence.  A  little  golden  cup  from  which  she  drank 
was,  she  told  them,  the  only  gold  in  her  possession  ;  and 
when  her  son's  servants  had  come,  on  his  departure,  to 
ask  for  money,  she  had  had  none  wherewith  to  satisfy 
their  claims.  To  other  troubles  inseparable  from  her 
position  was  added  the  menace  of  actual  want. 

That  the  Queen  was  reduced  to  these  straits  was  in 
part  owing  to  the  condition  of  French  affairs.  At  the 
Palais  Royal  money  was  scarce.  Dissensions  between 
the  court  and  the  Parliament  were  becoming  daily  more 
violent,  and  Anne  of  Austria  and  her  minister  to  a  greater 
degree  objects  of  aversion.  To  Henrietta,  taught  by  ex- 
perience the  length  to  which  disaffection  may  be  carried, 
the  struggle  appeared  a  prelude  to  a  convulsion  such  as 
that  which  had  taken  place  in  England  ;  and  she  was 
eager  and  anxious  to  act  as  peace-maker,  and  to  convince 
the  Queen-Regent — as  stubborn  in  her  resistance  to  the 


DISAFFECTION    IN    PARIS  381 

popular  demands  as  Henrietta  herself  at  an  earlier  date — 
of  the  necessity  of  a  policy  of  conciliation.  So  far, 
however,  her  sister-in-law  had  proved  deaf  to  her 
counsels,  and  not  long  after  Charles'  departure  she  had 
taken  the  bold  step  of  arresting  Broussel,  the  popular 
idol,  with  two  of  his  parliamentary  colleagues. 

The  most  important  of  the  prisoners  had  been  taken 
to  Saint-Germain,  where  Henrietta  was  then  living,  and 
had  there  been  lodged  on  his  way  to  a  more  distant 
place  of  captivity.  On  hearing  of  his  arrival  it  occurred 
to  the  Queen  that  she  might  use  the  opportunity  to 
intervene.  She  therefore  visited  him  in  the  room  in 
which  he  was  confined,  and  addressing  him  graciously 
with  a  promise  to  intercede  on  his  behalf  with  the 
Regent,  proceeded  to  reproach  him  with  language  he 
had  used,  and,  so  to  speak,  to  deliver  a  sermon  upon 
the  text  furnished  by  the  present  condition  of  England. 
Let  Broussel  save  her  native  land  and  his  from  a  like  fate. 
The  prisoner's  reply  is  not  recorded.  He  was  before 
long  to  be  in  a  position  to  profit,  were  he  so  minded,  by 
her  exhortations.  Paris  was  clamorously  demanding  his 
liberation,  barricades  were  set  up,  the  city  was  in  tumult, 
but  the  Regent  remained  obstinate  in  her  resistance. 
Again  Henrietta  threw  her  weight  into  the  scales  in 
favour  of  peace. 

Mole,  the  President,  with  twenty  colleagues,  had  been 
introduced  by  Orleans  himself  into  the  petite  chambre 
grise  where  Anne  sat,  surrounded  by  the  princesses  of 
the  blood — Henrietta,  who,  it  would  seem,  had  hurried 
up  from   Saint-Germain,   being  also  present. 

The  petition  was  presented,  Orleans  imploring  his 
sister-in-law  to  relent.  And  still  the  Regent,  proud 
and  indignant,  rejected  both  his  counsels  of  peace  and 
the  entreaties  of  the  princesses.     Then  Henrietta,  laying 


382  HENRIETTA    MARIA 

her  hand  upon  the  Queen's,  as  it  hung  over  her  chair, 
added  her  supplications  to  the  rest,  enforcing  them  with 
the  old  cogent  argument  afforded  by  personal  experience. 
At  the  first  not  even  in  England  had  the  foment  been 
so  great.  "  Yield,  Madame,"  she  urged,  "  listen  to  our 
prayer."  It  is  said  that  at  this  moment  the  King's 
laughter  rang  out  in  the  garden  below  where  he  was 
at  play.      Mole  seized  his  opportunity. 

"  Mon  Dieu  !  "  he  said,  "  whilst  that  child  is  playing 
he  is  losing  his  crown." 

Whether  or  not  it  was  the  boy's  laugh  that  gave  the 
prisoners  their  liberty,  Anne  submitted  to  necessity.  The 
popular  leaders  were  released,  and  an  armistice  between 
the  contending  parties  was  arranged. 

If  Henrietta  had  done  her  best  to  promote  a  policy 
of  conciliation,  she  was  not  given  credit  for  it.  A 
contemporary  letter  from  a  Royalist  in  Paris  mentions 
that  the  fact  that  Broussel  had  been  confined  in  the 
chamber  of  Crofts,  Henrietta's  captain  of  the  guard, 
together  with  the  subsequent  visit  she  paid  to  the  Queen- 
Regent,  had  damaged  her  in  the  eyes  of  the  populace. 
It  was  reported  that,  so  far  from  her  visit  having  been 
paid  in  the  interests  of  peace,  her  object  had  been  to  urge 
resistance  upon  her  sister-in-law,  and  to  advise  her  to 
take  warning  by  the  ill  success  following  upon  com- 
pliance in  England.  "I  wish,"  added  the  writer  of  the 
letter,  "  the  visit  had  been  spared,  and  that  some  other 
place  had  been  his  prison." 

Serious  as  was  the  situation  in  Paris,  Henrietta  can 
have  spared  but  a  fitful  interest  to  French  affairs.  News 
from  England  was  discouraging.  A  grave  error  had 
been  committed  in  the  appointment  of  Holland,  at  long 
last  returned  to  his  allegiance,  to  the  supreme  com- 
mand of  the  rising  intended  to  coincide  with  a  Scottish 


After  the  picture  by  Van  Dyck. 

LUCY    PERCY,    CO'   NT]         Ol     CARLISLE. 


COLLAPSE    OF    ROYALIST    RISING       383 

descent  upon  the  country.     The  arrangement  had  been 
mainly  due   to  Lady  Carlisle,  who,  it  might  have  been 
supposed,   had  sufficiently  proved  her   untrustworthiness 
as    an    adviser;    and    when    the    Earl,    having    "a   mind 
to    redeem    his    former    faults    by  a    new  and    thorough 
engagement,"    offered    his     services,    the    Queen     deter- 
mined to  accept  them.     His  old  friendship  with  Jermyn 
had    been    renewed,  and    the    post   conferred    upon    him 
was   an   earnest   of  the    forgiveness    he    had   won.      His 
present  pledges  were  redeemed,  and    he    was  shortly  to 
pay  for  his  tardy  loyalty  on  the  scaffold.     It  was  a  time 
when    pardon    might    be    politic  ;     Holland    would  have 
found  it  difficult,  with  the  best  will  in  the  world,  to  change 
sides  again,   and   self-interest   might   be  trusted  to   safe- 
guard his  faith.     But  he  was  not  the  less  unfitted  for  the 
office  he  was  to  fill.     In  a  business  demanding  the  utmost 
secrecy,   his   movements   were   matters  of  public  report, 
and  when  on    July  4th  he   took   the  field,  the   fortunes 
of  the  enterprise  were  decided  in  a  week.     By  the   10th 
he   was   himself  a   prisoner  ;    his    master   of  the    Horse, 
the  young  Duke  of  Buckingham,  had  made  his  escape 
to  Holland  ;   and   Buckingham's   brother,   Lord    Francis 
Villiers,  had   lost   his   life.       If  the   absolute   collapse   of 
the  attempt  had  done  no  more,  it   had  proved  that  the 
English    Royalists  were  wholly  incapable,   unless  supple- 
mented by  aid  from  Scotland  or  abroad,  of  coping  with 
the  Parliamentary  troops. 

Of  the  necessary  assistance  there  was  at  present  little 
hope.  Not  long  after  the  south-country  rising  had  been 
crushed,  the  Scottish  expedition  arranged  to  coincide 
with  it  ended  in  failure  no  less  complete,  and  the  Prince, 
on  his  arrival  at  the  Downs,  was  met  with  the  news  of 
Hamilton's  capitulation  at  Uttoxeter.  Before  the  end  of 
August  Colchester  had  fallen.     Deal  was  soon  to  follow  ; 


384  HENRIETTA    MARIA 

and,  separated  from  the  enemy's  fleet  when  preparing 
for  battle,  it  only  remained  for  Charles,  denuded  of  all 
necessaries,  to  put  back  to  Holland.  The  net  result  of 
the  venture,  so  far  as  the  Prince  was  concerned,  was  the 
proof  he  had  given,  by  accepting  the  terms  proposed  by 
Lauderdale  on  behalf  of  the  Scotch,  that  whatever  might 
be  the  case  with  his  father,  he  would  not  permit  scruples 
of  conscience  to  stand  between  himself  and  his  heritage. 
He  had  consented  to  go  to  Scotland  unaccompanied  by 
those  of  his  followers  who  had  been  proscribed  ;  and, 
though  not  without  some  difficulty,  had  been  induced  to 
undertake  to  conform,  whilst  in  the  Scotch  camp, 
to  Presbyterian  worship.  The  light  in  which  these 
concessions  were  likely  to  strike  some  of  the  warmest 
adherents  of  the  Royalist  cause  is  reflected  in  a  letter 
addressed  by  Hyde  to  the  Queen  from  the  Hague, 
when  there  was  still  a  question  of  Charles'  repairing 
to  Scotland. 

After  reporting  that  he  and  Cottington  had  had 
audience  of  the  Prince,  he  expressed  his  deep  regret 
that  he  had  not  seen  Henrietta  and  learnt  her  wishes. 
The  failure  to  do  so  had  been  his  first  and  greatest 
misfortune,  the  presage  of  all  that  had  followed.  He 
then  proceeded  to  make  a  less  courtier-like  confession  of 
his  religious  and  political  faith.  Had  he  had  an  interview 
with  her,  he  would  have  told  her  that  he  had  changed  in 
nothing  since  he  had  first  kissed  her  hands.  His  de- 
votion to  the  Church  of  England  was  such  that  he  would 
consent  to  nought  that  would  destroy  or  change  it.  He 
would  also  resist  all  attempts,  were  they  of  King  or 
Queen  themselves,  to  lessen  the  power  of  the  Crown. 
He  therefore  begged  her  to  consider  how  unfitted  he  was 
to  take  part  in  the  present  transaction  ;  and  trusted  that 
he   would   not   lose    her   favour   if  he   prayed  for   some 


TREATY    OF    NEWPORT  385 

service   other  than   that  of  accompanying   the  Prince   to 
Scotland. 

It  must  soon  have  been  clear  that  nothing  was  to  be 
gained  at  the  moment  by  Charles'  presence  in  the 
northern  kingdom,  and  Jermyn  told  Hyde  that,  though 
unconvinced  by  his  arguments,  the  Scotch  scheme  was  no 
longer  in  question.  "The  Queen,"  he  added,  "makes 
you  no  answer  by  this  occasion."  The  fact  that  Charles' 
fleet  was  blockaded  at  Helvoetsluys  would  in  any  case 
have  made  the  expedition  impossible.  Henrietta,  how- 
ever, undaunted  by  disappointment,  was  still  at  work, 
refusing  to  abandon  hopes  of  carrying  on  the  struggle. 
The  Duke  of  Lorraine  might  supply  troops,  Venice 
money  ;  whilst  the  conclusion  of  the  French  war  with 
Germany  seemed  to  render  aid  from  France  more  possible 
than  before.  But  it  was  to  Ireland  that,  Scotland  having 
proved  a  broken  reed,  the  eyes  of  the  Royalist  party 
were  chiefly   turning. 

In  the  Isle  of  Wight,  the  spot  where  the  interests  of 
the  King's  faithful  servants  were  above  all  centred,  the 
treaty  of  Newport  was  in  progress,  though  it  must  have 
been  patent  from  the  first  that  little  good  was  likely 
to  come  of  it.  Charles'  virtues  and  his  faults  continued 
to  bar  the  way  to  a  genuine  understanding.  He  was 
distrusted,  and  he  was  distrusted  with  reason.  He 
made  concessions  with  the  deliberate  intention,  by  some 
sleight  of  language  or  moral  sophistry,  of  evading  them. 
On  the  other  hand,  he  refused  to  give  way  on  points 
which  were  amongst  the  necessary  preliminaries  to  any 
settlement.  Conscience  is  an  incalculable  quantity.  It 
is  difficult  to  comprehend  the  frame  of  mind  permitting 
a  man  to  enter  into  one  set  of  engagements  with  the 
purpose  of  breaking  them,  whilst  principle  keeps  him 
firm   in  declining    to  give  other  pledges.     Yet    this  was 


386  HENRIETTA    MARIA 

Charles'  case.  c'  Lest  the  rumour  of  my  concessions 
concerning  Ireland  should  prejudice  my  affairs  there,"  he 
wrote  to  the  Queen,  "  I  send  the  enclosed  letter  to  the 
Marquis  of  Ormond,  the  sum  of  which  is  to  obey  your 
command,  and  to  refuse  mine  till  I  certify  him  I  am  a 
free  man."  "  Be  not  startled  at  my  great  concessions 
concerning  Ireland,"  he  wrote  to  Ormond  himself,  "  for 
that  they  will  come  to  nothing."  It  would  be  difficult 
to  produce  evidence  more  conclusive  of  the  impossibility 
of  building  a  secure  edifice  upon  the  shifting  foundation 
of  the  King's  word.  And  yet — here  comes  in  the  curious 
caprice  of  a  conscience  at  once  elastic  and  scrupulous 
— there  were  vital  points,  such  as  the  old  question  of 
church  government,  upon  which  he  was  as  firm  as  ever 
in  declining  to  treat.  Upon  some  matters  he  would  not 
so  much  as  appear  to  yield  ;  upon  others  he  yielded, 
deliberately  intending  to  break  the  engagements  made  ; 
whilst  in  the  case  of  a  third  class  it  may  be  believed  that 
he  meant  in  honesty  to  redeem  his  promises.  Remem- 
bering besides  that  he  had  left  himself  a  loophole  for 
escape  should  he  be  entangled  in  the  network  of  com- 
promise, by  the  stipulation  that  no  pledges  should  be  held 
binding  unless  a  complete  understanding  upon  every 
point  should  be  reached,  it  can  scarcely  have  failed  to  be 
clear  that  the  negotiations,  on  the  King's  part,  were 
scarcely  more  than  a  device  to  gain  time. 

Schemes  of  effecting  an  escape  had  not  been  wanting  ; 
and  Charles  had  been  long  intending  to  avail  himself  for 
that  purpose  of  the  comparative  liberty  afforded  by  the 
exchange  of  Carisbrooke  Castle  for  a  lodging  in  Newport. 
His  parole,  it  was  true,  had  been  given,  but  excuses  had 
appeared  to  justify,  in  contemplation,  its  breach.  Brought 
face  to  face  with  the  opportunity  of  flight,  the  step  wore  a 
different  aspect  ;  and  he  could  not  bring  himself  to  break 


After  the  picture  by  Van  Dyck  at  Dresefe 


CHARLES   THE    FIRST. 


THE    KING'S   TRIAL  387 

the  given  pledge.  On  the  following  day,  December  1st, 
his  removal  to  Hurst  Castle  put  an  end  to  the  chances 
of  evasion.  By  the  15th  he  was  at  Windsor;  and 
five  weeks  later  he  stood  for  the  first  time  before  his 
judges. 

However  long  such  a  development  had  been  pre- 
paring, the  shock  will  have  been  none  the  less  when 
Henrietta  learnt  that  the  King  was  to  be  tried  for  his 
life.  In  a  letter  of  an  earlier  date,  quoted  in  an  old 
biography,  Charles  appears  to  have  striven  to  prepare  her 
for  the  coming  blow.  He  was,  he  told  her,  thinking 
rather  of  death  than  of  keeping  the  fight  up  any  longer. 
Let  her  think  no  more  of  saving  him,  since  it  would 
be  useless.  Reading  this  letter,  the  biographer  adds, 
the  Queen  was  so  unhappy  that  she  seemed  almost  to  be 
dying,  and  the  Regent  was  summoned.  Arriving  in  a 
few  hours,  Anne  had  comforted  her  sister-in-law  with  her 
presence.  Such  comfort  can  have  been  but  of  little 
avail  ;  and  now  that  the  end  was  more  plainly  imminent 
Henrietta  wrote,  on  January  6th,  an  urgent  appeal 
to  be  permitted  to  join  the  King.  £<  Struck  to  the 
heart,"  says  Clarendon,  u  with  amazement  and  confusion 
upon  the  report  of  what  the  Parliament  intended,"  she 
sent  to  the  French  agent  in  London,  de  Grignan,  letters 
addressed  to  the  "  Speakers  "  of  both  Houses,  desiring  a 
pass  to  enable  her  to  go  to  London,  and  offering  to  use 
her  influence  to  induce  Charles  to  satisfy  Parliament. 
Should  her  interposition  be  declined,  she  begged  to  be 
permitted  to  be  at  hand  in  his  extremity.  Urgent 
as  was  her  pleading,  she  feared  a  refusal.  "  I  dare 
not  promise  myself,"  she  told  Grignan,  in  sending  her 
enclosures,  "  that  they  will  give  me  leave  to  go.  I 
desire  it  too  greatly  to  count  upon  it  at  a  time  when  my 
wishes  so  rarely  find  fulfilment." 

vol.    11.  6 


388  HENRIETTA    MARIA 

Her  forebodings  proved  true.  The  petitions  were 
laid  aside  unopened,   nor  was  any  answer  made. 

In  a  letter  to  Charles  *  she  told  him  that  she  wished 
to  die  for  him,  or  at  least  with  him  ;  that  she  could  not 
live  without  hopes  of  being  restored  to  him  ;  that  she 
had   done  her  utmost,    and  still  hoped   to   help  him. 

Such  hopes  were  quickly  to  end.  On  January  27th 
sentence  of  death  had  been  passed  upon  the  King.  The 
night  after,  says  the  Moderate  Intelligencer,  he  com- 
manded his  dogs  to  be  taken  away  and  to  be  sent  to  the 
Queen,  unwilling  to  have  anything  present  that  might 
take  him  off  from  serious  consideration  of  himself.  The 
next  day  witnessed  a  more  bitter  parting.  On  the  29th 
he  took  leave  of  his  children.  To  Elizabeth,  just  thirteen, 
he  gave  his  last  message  to  the  wife  he  was  to  see  no 
more,  bidding  her  let  her  mother  know  "  that  his  thoughts 
had  never  strayed  from  her,  and  that  his  love  should  be 
the  same  to  the  last."  To  little  Gloucester,  not  yet  ten, 
he  reiterated  his  injunctions  never  to  permit  himself  to 
be  made  king  in  his  brother's  place,  the  child  giving 
his  well-known  promise,  "  I  will  sooner  be  torn  in  pieces 
first." 

The  scene  familiar  to  all  followed.  Through  the 
grave  and  gate  of  death,  Charles,  vanquished  and  defeated, 
passed  out  a  victor.  In  the  eyes  of  the  mass  of  his 
people  he  was  quickly  to  become,  from  the  representative 
of  a  lost  cause,  a  martyr  and  a  saint. 

1  Quoted  in  an  early  biography. 


CHAPTER    XIX 
1649 

Paris  in  1649 — The  Queen's  poverty — Her  reception  of  the  news  of  the 
King's  death — Charles  II.  and  his  mother — His  marriage  with  Made- 
moiselle again  in  question — Charles  in  France — Disputes  with  the 
Queen — Hyde's  intervention — A  visit  from  Mademoiselle — Charles 
leaves  France. 

WHEN  the  news  of  the  tragedy  at  Whitehall 
reached  France,  Henrietta  was  at  the  Louvre, 
deprived  of  what  comfort  and  consolation  she  might 
have  found  in  the  presence  of  her  constant  friend,  the 
Queen-Regent,  by  the  absence  of  the  latter  from  Paris. 

The  preceding  weeks  had  been  a  time  of  riot  and 
disorder.  The  smouldering  animosities  of  court  and 
Parliament  had  burst  into  open  flame,  and  recourse  had 
been  had  to  arms.  Upon  the  eve  of  the  Epiphany  the 
Regent  had  determined  upon  the  important  step  of 
quitting  Paris  secretly,  taking  with  her  the  King  ;  to 
proceed  to  Saint-Germain,  and  thence  to  lay  siege  to  the 
capital.  In  the  small  hours  of  January  6th  messengers 
from  the  Palais  Royal  apprised  those  belonging  to  the 
court  of  her  intention,  and  bade  them  rise  and  accompany 
her  without  delay.  There  were  some  who  made  ex- 
cuses, but  the  majority  obeyed,  and  Paris  awoke  in 
the  morning  to  find  itself  abandoned  by  Regent,  King, 
minister,  and  court. 

All  that  day  the  city  was  in  tumult.     Some  courtiers 
who   had   been   left   behind   followed   the   court  to  Saint- 

389 


390  HENRIETTA    MARIA 

Germain  ;  others  quitted  Paris  for  reasons  of  their  own, 
or  to  escape  from  the  reigning  confusion. 

Henrietta  had  not  been  amongst  those  who  had 
joined  in  the  general  exodus.  She  was  pre -occupied 
by  interests  nearer  home  than  even  the  breaking  out 
of  a  civil  war  under  her  eyes.  On  the  very  day  that 
the  crowd  of  princes  and  nobles  and  ladies  of  the  court 
had  taken  the  road  to  Saint-Germain,  her  appeal  to  the 
Parliament  sitting  at  Westminster  had  been  written  ; 
and,  with  the  thought  of  what  was  going  forward  in 
England,  it  is  likely  that  she  had  as  little  attention  to 
spare  for  the  noisy  demonstrations  of  the  Parisian  mob 
as  politicians  more  immediately  concerned  in  the  matter 
had  for  her.  She  was  not,  however,  wholly  forgotten. 
Five  or  six  days  before  the  court  left  Paris,  the  Cardinal 
de  Retz,  leader  of  the  Fronde,  had  paid  a  visit  to  the 
Louvre,  and  has  left  upon  record  the  condition  in  which 
he  found  the  exiled  Queen  of  England  and  her  little 
child. 

It  was  in  the  room  of  the  four-year-old  Henriette- 
Anne,  still  in   bed,  that  Henrietta  received  her  guest. 

"  You  see  I  am  here  to  keep  Henriette  company," 
she  told  him.  "  The  poor  child  could  not  rise  to-day 
for  want  of  a  fire." 

On  inquiry  it  transpired  that  the  pension  paid  to 
her  by  Mazarin  was  six  months  in  arrear,  that  she 
was  unable  to  obtain  credit,  and  that  not  a  bundle  of 
wood  remained  available  in  the  palace. 

"You  will  do  me  the  justice  to  believe,"  adds  the 
Cardinal,  "  that  the  Princess  of  England  did  not  keep 
her  bed  the  following  day,  for  lack  of  a  faggot."  So 
strongly  did  he  represent  Henrietta's  needs  to  Parlia- 
ment that  she  shortly  afterwards  received  a  grant  of 
40,000  livres  from  that  body. 


THE   QUEEN'S   POVERTY  391 

Remembering  that,  not  a  week  later,1  the  Queen  was 
to  receive  news  of  the  urgent  peril  in  which  her 
husband  stood,  and  to  send  her  appeal  for  permission 
to  share  it,  cold  and  hunger  may  well  have  been  the 
least  of  the  troubles  she  had  to  bear.  Nor  was  it 
Henrietta's  habit  to  lay  stress  upon  physical  discomfort. 
When  forced,  now  or  later,  for  want  of  fuel  to  spend 
the  afternoons  in  the  heated  galleries  of  the  Louvre, 
she  was  accustomed  to  speak  of  her  necessities  as  a 
thing  "  ou  il  sembloit  qu'elle  n'eust  aucune  part,"  nor 
was  she  ever  heard  to  complain.  It  is  stated  in  a 
manuscript  of  the  day2  that,  whilst  any  other  queen 
would  have  been  abandoned  by  her  attendants,  owing 
to  the  distress  in  her  household  at  the  time  of  the 
Fronde,  Henrietta's  servants  endured  astonishing  priva- 
tions before  quitting  her  in  search  of  food.  "  She 
shares  them  with  us,"  they  said,  "  and  what  suffices 
her,  suffices  us."  The  comforts  denied  to  her  dependants, 
she  preferred  to  dispense  with. 

Yet,  however  heroically  met,  the  fact  that  cold  and 
hunger  were  staring  Henrietta  in  the  face  was  a  singular 
feature  of  the  times,  and  de  Retz  was  justified  in  his 
assertion  that  posterity  would  hardly  believe  that  a 
princess  of  England,  grand-daughter  of  Henri-Quatre, 
had  wanted  a  faggot  in  the  Louvre,  in  the  month  of 
January    and  in   the  sight  of  the  French  court. 

The  insinuation,  natural  enough  in  the  mouth  of 
the  leader  of  the  Fronde,  that  Henrietta  had  suffered 
neglect  at  the  hands  of  those  bound  by  every  obligation 
of  blood  and  race  to  minister  to  her  necessities,  is  not 
altogether  fair.      In   the   stress  of  the   present  crisis   her 

1  Henrietta's  letter  is  dated  January  6th,  N.S.     It  was  laid  aside  on 
January  3rd,  O.S.,  at  Westminster. 
1  Quoted  by  Miss  Strickland. 


392 


HENRIETTA    MARIA 


condition  may,  indeed,  have  been  overlooked  ;  but,  so 
long  as  Anne  had  been  in  a  position  to  make  it  so, 
her  conduct  towards  her  unfortunate  sister-in-law  had 
been  marked  by  consistent  liberality.  The  days  were 
at  hand  when  the  Regent  was  to  find  it  no  easy  matter 
to  supply  the  necessaries  of  life  to  her  own   court. 

Personally,  Henrietta  had  little  to  fear  from  the 
stormy  condition  of  Paris.  The  Condes,  some  of  whom 
had  already  thrown  the  weight  of  their  great  position 
into  the  scales  in  favour  of  the  Fronde,  were  her 
friends  ;  nor  was  it  forgotten  by  others  besides  the 
Cardinal  de  Retz  that  she  was  the  daughter  of  a  king 
of  whom  the  nation  was  justly  proud.  In  spite  of  her 
penury,  she  was  able  to  afford  protection  to  those  who 
needed  it  ;  and  Madame  de  Motteville,  on  her  own 
confession  far  from  vail /ante,  and  terrified  at  the  state 
of  the  city,  sought  and  obtained,  for  herself  and  her 
sister,  shelter  at  the  Louvre. 

Open  warfare  had  begun  and  the  town  was  blockaded 
by  the  Queen-Regent's  troops.  The  Seine  Was  in  flood, 
and  Paris  inundated,  traffic  being  carried  on  in  some 
parts  of  the  town  by  means  of  boats.  It  was  a  dreary 
January.  Personal  cares,  however,  take  precedence  of 
public  disaster,  and  to  Henrietta  the  increased  difficulty 
in  maintaining  regular  communication  with  England  will 
have  appeared  the  most  serious  result  of  the  siege. 
Little  news  reached  the  beleaguered  city,  and  to  the 
condition  of  public  affairs  in  France  the  Queen  attri- 
buted Charles'  silence,  due  in  reality  to  the  strictness 
of  the  guard  kept  upon  the  prisoner. 

So  the  month  wore  away  till  the  final  scene  took 
place  at  Whitehall.  The  end  had  already  come  when 
false  tidings  reached  the  Queen,  telling  how  Charles 
had    been    led   from    prison    to    the    scaffold,    and    how, 


TIDINGS   OF   CHARLES'    DEATH        393 

before  the  execution  could  be  carried  out,  the  people 
had  intervened  to  save  him.  If,  as  it  was  surmised, 
the  tale  had  been  deliberately  invented  by  Jermyn  to 
pave  the  way  for  what  he  had  no  doubt  was  soon  to 
follow,  he  miscalculated  his  mistress's  sanguine  spirit  ; 
for,  relating  the  story  with  tears  to  her  friends,  Hen- 
rietta drew  from  it  fresh  hope  for  the  future. 

It  was  not  until  ten  days  after  the  event  that  the  fatal 
truth  at  length  reached  her.  On  the  preceding  after- 
noon her  second  son,  James,  in  possession  of  the 
facts,  had  made  his  way  to  Paris  ;  but  it  seems  to 
have  been  determined  to  leave  the  unhappy  Queen  in 
ignorance  of  her  calamity  for  another  four-and-twenty 
hours  ;  and  at  dinner  next  day  she  was  anxiously 
awaiting  the  return  of  a  messenger  who  had  been  sent 
to  obtain  news  from  Saint-Germain.1 

Having  pronounced  the  grace,  her  attendant  Capuchin, 
Pere  Cyprian  de  Gamache,  who  afterwards  wrote  an 
account  of  the  scene,  had  been  about  to  withdraw, 
when  he  received  an  intimation  that  he  would  do  well 
to  remain  at  his  post,  in  order  that  he  might  be  at 
hand  when  his  mistress  should  receive  tidings  of  the 
death  of  her  husband.  An  hour  passed  and  nothing  was 
heard.  As  ordinary  conversation  was  carried  on,  the 
Queen's  uneasiness  at  the  delay  of  her  messenger  grew. 
Why  was  he  so  long  in  coming?  she  questioned. 
Jermyn  answered,  making  use  of  the  opportunity  to 
prepare  her  for  what  was  to  follow.  The  gentleman 
sent,  he  said,  was  so  faithful  and  so  prompt  that,  had 
the  news  been  favourable,  he  would  not  have  failed  to 
reach  her  sooner. 

1  In  an  early  French  biography,  anonymously  published,  but  attributed 
to  C.  Cotolcndi,  Henrietta  is  stated  to  have  received  the  news  at  a 
Carmelite  convent.     But  de  Gamache's  account  is  manifestly  the  true  one, 


394  HENRIETTA    MARIA 

"  What,  then,  is  it  ?  "  asked  the  Queen.  "  I  perceive 
plainly  that  you  know." 

Jermyn  did  know.  Not  even  now  at  once,  but 
gradually,  he  made  the  necessary  announcement.  All 
hope  was  over  ;  the  King  was  dead. 

The  shock  was  overwhelming.  Strange  though  it 
may  seem,  in  the  Capuchin's  word  Henrietta  "  had  not 
expected  anything  of  the  kind,"  and  the  blow  found 
her — as  such  blows  commonly  do — wholly  unprepared. 
For  long  she  sat,  silent,  motionless,  "  like  a  statue,"  deaf 
to  what  was  said,  insensible  to  the  efforts  made  to  rouse 
her.  It  was  only  when  night  was  falling  that  her 
sister-in-law,  the  Duchesse  de  Vendome,  herself  in  tears, 
succeeded  in  awakening  her  from  the  species  of  stupor  in 
which  she  was  wrapped. 

That  February  day  marked  the  culminating  point  of 
Henrietta's  misfortunes.  The  goal  towards  which  the 
efforts,  the  labours,  the  longings  of  years  had  been 
directed,  was  no  longer  attainable.  Never  again  in  this 
life  would  she  look  upon  Charles'  melancholy  face  ; 
never  again,  whatever  might  befall,  would  her  King  enjoy 
his  own.  Her  happiness  lay  in  ruins  around  her,  nor 
was  any  reconstruction  of  it  possible. 

Her  friend,  Madame  de  Motteville,  at  once  open- 
eyed  and  affectionate,  and  who  enjoyed  exceptional 
opportunities  of  forming  a  judgment,  has  left  her  convic- 
tion upon  record  that,  in  her  heart  as  well  as  outwardly, 
Henrietta  wore  henceforth  perpetual  mourning.  "  With 
her  the  King  had  shared  his  greatness  and  his  riches  ;  it 
was  just  that  she  should  taste  largely  of  the  bitterness 
of  his  lot  ;  and  that,  he  having  died  once,  she  should  die 
daily."  Later  on,  indeed,  she  would  wake  to  life  again. 
She  was  not  forty.  Her  children  remained,  outcasts  like 
herself  from  the  land  where  their  father  had  reigned  as 


HENRIETTA'S    MOURNING  395 

king  ;  for  them  work  was  to  be  done,  rights  regained. 
There  was,  besides,  a  buoyancy  and  elasticity  about  her 
character  which  would  reassert  itself.  But,  for  the  time, 
the  blow  must  have  come  near  to  be  paralysing. 

Two  days  later  she  was,  nevertheless,  in  a  condition 
to  take  thought  for  others.  Madame  de  Motteville, 
having  obtained  a  pass  enabling  her  to  rejoin  the  court  at 
Saint-Germain,  came  to  take  leave  of  her  protectress,  and, 
kneeling  by  the  Queen's  bedside,  listened  to  the  messages, 
broken  by  sobs,  sent  by  Henrietta  to  the  Regent.  "  She 
commanded  me  to  let  the  Queen  know  of  her  condition, 
and  to  tell  her  that  her  Lord  the  King,  whose  death 
was  to  render  her  the  most  unhappy  woman  in  the 
world,  had  been  lost  because  he  had  never  known  the 
truth  ;  that  she  counselled  her  not  to  exasperate  her 
subjects  unless  she  had  strength  to  subdue  them  entirely; 
that  the  people  is  a  savage  beast,  never  to  be  tamed  ; 
that  her  Lord  the  King  had  made  proof  of  it  ;  and  that 
she  prayed  God  that  there  might  be  more  happiness  in 
France  than  in  England.  But  above  all  she  counselled 
her  to  listen  to  those  who  should  speak  the  truth,  to 
labour  to  discover  it,  and  to  believe  that  the  greatest 
evil  of  which  kings  were  capable,  and  which  alone  could 
prove  destructive  to  their  kingdoms,  was  to  be  ignorant 
it. 

Proceeding  to  deal  with  matters  bearing  more  directly 
upon  her  personal  interests,  she  demanded  that  no 
time  should  be  lost  in  recognising  the  Prince  of  Wales 
as  king,  and  the  young  Duke  of  York  as  heir  to  the 
throne.  Then,  once  more  overcome  with  a  passion 
of  grief,  she  recurred  to  her  own  irrecoverable  loss,  the 
loss  of  a  king,  a  husband,  and  a  friend,  and  to  the 
undying  sorrow  he  had  bequeathed  her. 

In  this  interview  Henrietta  is  very  like  herself,  equally 


396  HENRIETTA    MARIA 

in  her  passionate  regrets,  her  desire  to  impress  upon  her 
sister-in-law  the  lessons  life  had  taught  her,  and  the 
instant  measures  she  took  to  assert  her  children's  rights. 

In  the  first  violence  of  her  grief  she  took  the  step 
of  retiring  for  a  time  into  the  Carmelite  convent  in  the 
Faubourg-Saint-Jacques,  leaving,  says  Pere  Cyprian,  the 
care  of  the  morals  of  the  four-year-old  Henriette-Anne 
to  Lady  Dalkeith — now  become  Lady  Morton — and 
her  instruction  to  himself.  The  affairs  of  her  son  were 
not,  however,  in  a  condition  to  dispense  with  her  atten- 
tion, and  she  had  not  been  long  in  her  place  of  retreat 
when  the  Capuchin  was  sent  to  point  out  the  desirability 
of  a  return  to  the  Louvre.  It  was,  accordingly,  at 
the  palace  that  she  was  found  by  Mademoiselle  when, 
two  months  later,  she  profited  by  the  conclusion  of  a 
temporary  peace  with  the  insurgents  to  come  from  Saint- 
Germain  to  pay  her  aunt  a  visit  of  condolence. 

To  turn  from  the  narratives  of  those  who  loved 
Henrietta  and  made  her  sorrows  their  own,  to  that  of 
Mademoiselle  de  Montpensier,  is  a  transition  from  tragedy 
to  comedy.  It  was  not  two  months  since  the  Queen 
had  reached  the  climax  of  her  misfortunes.  The  event 
filling  all  Royalists  with  horror  and  rage  was  new, 
and  their  grief  finding  expression  in  strange  and  almost 
blasphemous  language. 

"  Even  the  crucifying  of  our  blessed  Saviour,"  wrote 
Digby  to  Ormond  in  his  first  vehemence  of  sorrow  and 
wrath,  "  if  we  consider  Him  only  in  His  human  nature, 
did  nothing  equal  this,  His  kingdom  being  not  of  this 
world,  and  He,  though  as  unjustly  condemned,  yet 
judged  at  a  lawful  tribunal.  May  all  tears  for  his 
Majesty  be  dried  up  in  such  an  indignation  as  may 
inflame  all  honest  hearts  to  a  noble  vengeance  of  so 
innocent  a  suffering." 


A    VISIT    FROM    MADEMOISELLE       397 

Whilst  this  was  the  spirit  breathed  by  the  dead 
King's  servants,  Henrietta  would  not  be  less  moved  ; 
and  Clarendon,  who  had  little  liking  for  her,  acknow- 
ledges "  the  great  agony  she  was  in,  which  without 
doubt  was  as  great  a  passion  of  sorrow  as  she  was  able 
to  sustain."  Mademoiselle  took  a  different  view  ;  nor 
did  she  consider  her  aunt  as  much  concerned  as  she  might 
have  been  at  her  bereavement.  "  For  my  part,"  adds 
the  niece,  indulgently  if  inconsistently,  <{  I  believe  it  was 
through  strength  of  mind  that  she  appeared  thus."  It 
may  rather  have  been  owing  to  an  instinct  warning 
Henrietta  that  sympathy  was  not  to  be  expected  from 
her  shrewd,  hard-headed  visitor. 

It  was  on  this  occasion  that  Mademoiselle  made 
acquaintance  with  her  young  cousin,  the  Duke  of  York, 
who  appears  to  have  been  the  one  member  of  the  English 
royal  family  she  thoroughly  approved.  He  was,  she  says, 
a  very  pretty  boy,  well  made  and  with  a  handsome  face. 
He  also  spoke  French  well,  which  gave  him  a  great  advan- 
tage over  his  brother,  the  King.  His  conversation  was 
well  chosen,  and  his  cousin  expressed  herself  in  every  way 
pleased  with  her  new  companion.  During  her  stay  in 
Paris  she  visited  Henrietta  daily,  and  was  accustomed  to 
take  the  boy  out,  thus  affording  him  a  welcome  diversion 
from  the  sadness  prevailing  at  the  Louvre. 

Though  her  second  son  had  obeyed  Henrietta's 
summons  to  Paris,  the  new-made  King  lingered  in 
Holland,  by  no  means  desirous,  according  to  Clarendon, 
ot  returning  to  France  and  his  mother's  vicinity. 
His  disinclination  will  have  been  strengthened  and 
encouraged  by  those  about  him.  It  was  true  that,  at  the 
first,  minor  differences  had  been  sunk  in  the  sense  of 
an  overwhelming  and  common  calamity.  The  rough 
draught  of  an   unsent  letter  from  Charles  to  his  mother, 


398  HENRIETTA    MARIA 

whether  emanating  from  himself  or  from  Hyde,  in- 
dicates the  attitude  then  assumed  by  the  King.  He 
there  begs  her  not  to  yield  to  a  destroying  sorrow, 
which  would  rob  him  of  his  only  comfort  and  blessing  ; 
entreats  that  she  will  assist  and  guide  him  by  her 
counsels  ;  and  assures  her  that,  as  never  son  had  greater 
obligations  and  bonds  of  duty  and  gratitude  towards  a 
mother,  so  no  mother  ever  received  a  fuller  and  more 
entire  submission  and  obedience  from  a  son. 

It  was,  perhaps,  well  that  professions  to  which  con- 
duct was  soon  to  offer  a  signal  contradiction  remained 
unmade.  But  the  letter  reflects  with  sufficient  truth  the 
state  of  feeling  at  the  Hague  immediately  consequent 
upon  the  King's  execution.  In  April  Hyde  gave  ex- 
pression, writing  to  Sir  John  Berkeley  in  his  own 
person,  to  his  sentiments.  "  My  duty,"  he  said,  "  to  the 
Queen  is  a  part  of  my  religion,  and  I  shall  as  soon  take 
the  Covenant  as  commit  any  fault  willingly  against  her." 
The  oath — the  strongest  of  which  the  Chancellor  was 
capable — was  probably  perfectly  sincere.  Loyalty  was  to 
him  an  article  of  his  faith  ;  and  Henrietta  had  the 
further  claim  upon  him  of  being  the  wife  of  a  master  he 
had  loved  devotedly. 

In  the  first  keenness  of  her  sorrow  the  Queen,  too, 
had  evinced  a  disposition  to  bury  the  hatchet,  and  had 
shown  herself  favourably  inclined  towards  her  husband's 
old  and  faithful  servants.  Her  state  of  feeling  is 
described  in  the  letters  of  Lord  Hatton — an  English 
refugee  at  this  time,  though  not  afterwards,  in  much 
favour  at  the  Louvre — to  his  friend  Sir  Edward  Nicholas. 
The  good  Queen,  Hatton  wrote,  had  "  expressed  her 
content  that  such  honest  men  should  be  about  her  son," 
adding  that  "  if  any  strangeness  had  been,  it  was  through 
mistaking   of  her."     Hatton    believed    in    her    sincerity, 


DISTRUST   OF   JERMYN  399 

and  was  confident  that  her  heart  dictated  to  her  tongue. 
A  few  days  later,  when  just  come  from  the  presence 
of  "  our  good  and  sad  Queen,"  the  same  writer  was 
again  able  to  report  that  she  was  resolved  to  abide  by 
Ormond's  advice — advice  certain  to  be  in  harmony  with 
the  views  of  Hyde  and  Nicholas — and  to  shun  the  rocks 
upon  which  earlier  designs  had  split.  Should  money 
be  lacking  to  enable  the  King  to  proceed  to  Ireland 
— the  project  promising  most  success  at  the  moment — 
she  would  be  ready  to  sacrifice  the  jewels  in  pawn  in 
Holland  rather  than  allow  financial  difficulties  to  hinder 
his  journey.  It  is  plain  that,  in  Hatton's  opinion, 
had  Henrietta  been  left  to  herself,  Charles  and  his 
advisers  would  have  had  no  cause  of  complaint.  On 
the  other  hand,  not  Nicholas  nor  Hyde  themselves 
could  have  surpassed  him  in  distrust  of  Jermyn  and 
his  "  vast  and  exorbitant  power,"  and  so  long  as  this 
counsellor  retained  his  influence  it  was  impossible  that 
the  men  who  represented  a  party  opposed  to  him  should 
feel  confidence  either  in  the  Queen's  wisdom  and 
discretion,  or  in   her  attitude  towards  themselves. 

Charles  had  lost  no  time  in  causing'  the  members 
of  his  father's  Council  to  be  sworn  of  his  own.  This 
had  been  done  before  a  letter  from  his  mother  reached 
him,  not  only  expressing  her  desire  that  he  would 
at  once  repair  to  France,  but  urging  him  to  admit 
no  person  to  be  member  of  the  Privy  Council  till 
she  should  have  conferred  with  him  on  the  subject. 
Lord  Hatton,  it  is  true,  explained  her  request  as  a 
mere  wish  to  acquaint  the  new  King  with  his  father's 
will  ;  but  he  was  careful  to  add  that  Jermyn  had  no 
share  in  the  Queen's  goodness  and  noble  ends,  and 
that,  in  his  belief,  neither  Hyde  nor  Cottington  would 
retain    their     posts    could     he     compass     their    removal. 


4oo  HENRIETTA    MARIA 

Hatton  also  told  Secretary  Nicholas,  in  his  ear,  that 
he  had  a  very,  very  great  jealousy  that  Lord  Digby 
would  be  likewise  left  in  the  lurch.  In  the  sequel  it 
would  seem  that  Hatton's  jealousy  on  this  point  was  not 
unfounded  ;  but  for  the  present  Henrietta  was  doing 
her  best  to  secure  for  Digby  her  son's  favour  ;  since 
in  a  letter  to  the  late  King's  secretary  Charles  informed 
him  that  his  mother  took  all  his  concernments  very  much 
to  heart,  and  that  he  had  given  her  his  word  that,  when 
better  times  should  come,  Digby  should  have  a  place 
as  near  his  own  person  and  trust  as  he  could  desire. 
Hyde  indeed  feared  that,  in  his  confidence  of  the  Queen's 
favour  and  Jermyn's  friendship,  his  unwise  friend  would 
again  "  put  himself  too  much  upon  the  stage."  "  What 
this  madness  may  produce,  who  knows  ? '  sighed  the 
Chancellor,  ever  sighting  perils  ahead. 

Whilst  Digby  was  ready  to  put  faith  in  the  Queen's 
goodwill,  the  view  taken  by  Hatton  of  the  manner 
in  which  Jermyn's  influence  would  be  asserted  with 
regard  to  the  King's  present  advisers  was  not  such  as 
to  lessen  their  disinclination  that  he  should  return  to 
France.  The  saddest  thing  in  their  business,  Hyde  told 
Nicholas,  was  that  those  about  the  Queen  had  learnt 
to  dissemble  so  much  that  they  knew  not  whom  to  trust. 
As  for  the  King,  nothing  had  been  left  unsaid  to  him 
concerning  both  his  father's  and  his  mother's  counsellors, 
and  he  heartily  loved  all  honest  men.  In  other  words, 
all  had  been  done  that  man  could  do  to  inspire  him 
with  confidence  in  the  first  and  distrust  for  the  last. 
Yet  the  Chancellor  predicted  another  short  reign  for 
Jermyn,  Goring,  and  Percy  before  matters  should  go 
right. 

Other  reasons  were  not  wanting  to  render  Hyde  and 
his  friends  unwilling  that  the  King  should  betake  himself 


THE    QUEEN'S   HOPES  401 

to  Paris.  It  was  held  that  he  had  been  badly  treated  at 
his  coming  thence,  and  distrust  was  felt  in  some  quarters 
as  to  the  use  that  the  possession  of  his  person  might 
prove  to  the  Fronde  in  trafficking  with  the  Parliament 
at  Westminster.  It  was,  at  all  events,  not  till  the 
summer  that  the  meeting  to  which  Henrietta  looked 
forward  with  so  much  eagerness  took  place  ;  and  Jermyn 
had  been  despatched  to  the  Hague  to  enforce  her  wishes 
before  her  son  yielded  to  the  pressure  brought  to  bear 
upon  him  and  proceeded  to  France. 

The  Queen  had  not  spent  the  interval  in  idleness, 
and  had  in  particular  been  pursuing  her  efforts  to  obtain 
for  Charles  a  wealthy  bride.  Whilst  he  was  lingering 
in  Holland,  she  had  once  more  set  on  foot  negotiations 
designed  to  realise  her  dream  of  a  marriage  with  his  cousin. 
At  first  it  seemed  not  improbable  that  her  endeavours 
would  be  crowned  with  success.  Charles'  position  had 
undergone  a  change  since  he  had  sat  at  Mademoiselle's 
feet  at  the  ball.  In  theory  at  least,  and  in  name,  he 
was  a  reigning  sovereign,  and,  according  to  his  mother's 
anticipations,  not  without  good  hope  of  turning  his 
titular  kingship  into  a  reality.  "  The  King  my  son  is 
still  in  Holland,"  she  wrote  to  her  sister  in  May, 
"  but  I  am  daily  expecting  to  hear  of  his  departure 
to  come  hither  on  his  way  to  Ireland,  where  he  is 
awaited  with  the  utmost  impatience,  all  that  country 
being  reduced  to  obedience,  with  the  exception  of  two 
towns,  one  of  them  being  the  capital  of  the  kingdom, 
called  Dublin,  which  is  held  by  the  Parliamentarians. 
We  hope  to  take  it  soon  ;  it  is  now  besieged  by  the 
Viceroy.  If  it  is  taken  the  other  will  not  hold  out. 
All  Ireland  is  quiet,  and  the  King  will  have  an  army 
of  25,000  good  men   to  dispose  of  as  he  pleases." 

Nor  was  Henrietta's  forecast  unduly  sanguine.     The 


4o2  HENRIETTA    MARIA 

King's  execution  had  raised  a  formidable  volume  of  public 
indignation,  at  home  and  abroad.  The  Czar  dismissed 
the  Eno-lish  envoy.  France  withdrew  her  ambassador. 
The  States-General  of  Holland  recognised  Charles  as  King, 
and  refused  to  receive  the  envoys  from  England.  In 
Scotland  the  new  King  had  been  proclaimed,  and  he 
himself  invited  to  repair  thither.  Ireland,  under 
Ormond,  was  said  to  be,  three-fourths  of  it,  loyal. 
Dissension  was  present  in  the  camp  of  his  opponents. 
Under  such  circumstances  a  restoration  might  well  appear 
to  lie  in  the  near  future. 

Mademoiselle   was   not    insensible   to   the   advantages 
of  a  union  offering  many  possibilities,  besides  the  right 
to  take  precedence  of   the    Queen-Regent    in    her    own 
court,   a    privilege   specially   dazzling    to   an  aspirant    of 
the  temper  of  Anne  of  Austria's  niece.     When  she  was, 
therefore,  approached   on   the  subject   by  her  father,  she 
was  found  to  be  in  a  mood  of  unusual  docility.      He  was 
a  better  judge  than  herself,  she  declared,  of  what  was  for 
her    welfare  ;    she  was  prepared    to   yield  him  obedience 
in   all    things,  and    his  will    should    be    hers.       Mazarin 
appeared  favourably  disposed  towards  the  project,  making 
more    of    the    "  gaudy    promises " — to    use    Clarendon's 
phrase — of  which    he   was   lavish  ;   and  the    Regent    set 
herself   to   plead   the  cause   of  Henrietta's   son,   rallying 
Mademoiselle  so  mercilessly,  in  Jermyn's  presence,  that 
the  victim  wishes  us  to  believe  that  she  was  put  to  the 
blush.      Reflection  availed  to  show  the  wary  heiress  that 
there  was  another  side  to  the  question.      She  had  been 
used  to  riches  and  pleasure,  and  she  was  too  shrewd  to 
be    blind    to    the    contingency  that,    in    the   event    of   a 
marriage  with  her  cousin,  all  her  vast  possessions  might 
prove  insufficient  to  restore  to  him  his  throne.     Deter- 
mining, therefore,  to  follow  a  non-committing  policy,  she 


MADEMOISELLE   AND   CHARLES       403 

discovered  an  obstacle  to  the  match  having  the  additional 
merit  of  reflecting  credit  upon  herself.  For  her  aunt's 
sake,  she  told  Jermyn,  who  was  acting  as  intermediary, 
she  would  have  been  ready  to  overlook  its  material 
disadvantages,  but  religion  presented  an  insuperable 
hindrance,  which  it  was  for  Charles  to  remove.  Jermyn 
made  the  natural  reply  that  to  declare  himself  a 
Catholic  would  be  wholly  destructive  to  her  cousin's 
chances  of  regaining  his  kingdom,  and  the  marriage 
question  remained,  as  Mademoiselle  had  probably  intended, 
in  abeyance. 

Thus  matters  stood  when  Charles'  long-deferred 
journey  to  France  was  made.  The  French  court,  at  the 
time  of  his  arrival,  was  at  Compiegne,  where  he  paid 
a  passing  visit  before  proceeding  to  join  his  mother  at 
Saint-Germain. 

The  result  of  his  meeting  with  Mademoiselle  was 
awaited  with  an  interest  and  curiosity  fully  shared  by  his 
cousin.  She  would  have  liked  the  King,  she  frankly 
admitted,  to  make  love  to  her — "  qu'il  me  dise  des 
douceurs " — since  it  was  what  no  one  else  had  dared 
to  do.  This  singular  fact  she  ascribed,  not  to  her  rank 
— queens  of  her  acquaintance  not  having  lacked  lovers — 
but  to  her  own  want  of  coquetry.  "  Without,  however, 
being  a  coquette,  I  could  well  listen  to  love-making  from 
a  king  to  whom  they  would  marry  me.  So  I  wish 
very  much  that  he  would  do  it." 

Mademoiselle's  wish  was  not  fulfilled.  As  she 
entered  the  royal  carriage  to  go  to  meet  the  guest,  the 
Queen  noticed  her  curled  hair,  and  mocked  at  the 
unusual  care  displayed  in  its  arrangement.  One  could 
easily  see,  she  said,  when  gallants  were  expected.  It 
was  upon  Mademoiselle's  lips  to  reply  that  those  who 
had   possessed  them  were  in  a  position   to   judge  ;    but 

vol.   11.  7 


4o4  HENRIETTA   MARIA 

she  repressed  the  insolent  inuendo,  and  the  party  pro- 
ceeded on  their  way  to  welcome  the  visitor. 

Charles  produced,  at  the  first,  a  favourable  impression 
upon  the  heiress.  "  Perhaps,"  she  admits,  "  he  might 
now  have  found  favour  with  me."  But  before  the 
palace  was  reached  she  had  changed  her  mind.  King 
Louis  entertained  his  guest  with  talk  of  dogs,  horses, 
Holland,  and  the  Prince  of  Orange,  Charles  making 
due  reply.  When,  however,  the  Queen  would  have 
questioned  him  on  more  important  matters,  he  became 
strangely  ignorant  of  the  French  language,  excusing 
himself  on  that  score  from  answering  her  inquiries. 
It  may  be  that  the  policy  of  reserve  he  was  afterwards 
to  adopt  towards  his  mother  had  been  the  cause  of 
his  sudden  want  of  conversancy  with  the  Regent's 
tongue  ;  but  Mademoiselle  interpreted  it  after  another 
fashion.  From  that  moment,  she  says,  she  decided 
against  the  marriage.  To  be  a  king,  and  to  display 
so  little  knowledge  of  his  own  affairs,  had  condemned 
her  suitor  in  her  eyes. 

The  evening  that  followed  was  not  a  social  success. 
Left  alone  with  his  cousin,  Charles  permitted  a  quarter 
of  an  hour  to  pass  in  dead  silence.  After  which  it 
was  vain  for  Monsieur's  favourite  to  tell  her  that  the 
King  had  never  removed  his  eyes  from  her  during 
dinner  or  since.  The  sole  attempt  made  by  Charles  at 
arriving  at  an  understanding  with  his  proposed  bride 
was  when,  at  parting,  he  observed  lamely  that  Lord 
Jermyn,  who  spoke  French  better  than  himself,  would 
have  explained  his  sentiments  and  plans,  concluding  by 
the  assurance  that  he  was  her  very  obedient  servant. 
Mademoiselle  made  fitting  response,  and  thus  the  visit 
ended. 

The  King  spent  the    rest   of  his    stay    in    France — 


MOTHER   AND   SON  405 

some  three  months — with  his  mother  at  Saint-Germain, 
lent  to  the  English  exiles  as  a  place  of  quiet  and 
retirement  during  their  time  of  mourning,  and  little 
further  intercourse  took  place  between  the  cousins.  The 
French  court  was  chiefly  resident  at  Paris  ;  and  those 
belonging  to  it  seldom  cared  to  find  their  way  to  a 
habitation  offering  so  few  attractions  as  Henrietta's,  and 
where,  above  all,  "  le  malheur  etoit  de  la  partie." 

To  the  Queen  her  son's  eagerly  expected  visit 
was  far  from  proving  as  satisfactory  as  she  had  hoped. 
The  King,  fresh  from  the  admonitions  of  the  Chancellor 
and  his  friends,  showed  a  strong  inclination  to  keep 
his  own  counsel  in  matters  of  business  ;  and,  upon 
his  mother  reproaching  him  with  his  reticence,  made 
no  secret  of  his  intention  of  acting  upon  his  own  judg- 
ment, "  and  did  as  good  as  desire  her  not  to  trouble 
herself  in  his  affairs." l  The  declaration  of  independ- 
ence, perhaps  due  in  part  to  boyish  bravado  and  a  wish 
to  prove  his  emancipation  from  maternal  control,  must 
have  presented  to  the  Queen  a  painful  contrast  to 
his  father's  eager  deference  and  vehement  repudiation 
of  the  very  suggestion  that  she  should  withdraw  from 
matters  of  state  policy  ;  nor  was  she  a  woman  to  disguise 
her  resentment.  The  natural  result  followed.  "  Finding 
her  passions  strong,  [the  King]  frequently  retired  from 
her  with  some  abruptness,  and  seemed  not  to  desire 
to  be  so  much  in  her  company  as  she  expected."  2 

A  further  subject  of  contention  was  furnished  by  one 
Thomas  Elliot,  groom  of  the  bedchamber.  Distrusted 
both  by  Charles  I.  and  Henrietta,  the  new  King  had 
always  cherished  a  liking  for  him  that  he  was  now  able 
to  indulge  ;  and  Elliot,  aspiring  to  the  post  of  favourite, 
had  made  his  influence  over  the  lad  unfortunately  felt 
1  Clarendon.  '  Ibid. 


4o6  HENRIETTA    MARIA 

in  the  exclusion  of  the  Earl  of  Bristol  and  his  son, 
Digby,  from  the  council  board,  and  in  the  further 
refusal  of  the  King  to  continue  the  latter  in  his  former 
post  of  Secretary  of  State,  a  quasi  promise  having  been 
obtained  from  Charles  that  he  should  be  replaced  by 
Elliot's  own  father-in-law,  Windham,  a  man  of  no  capacity 
and  totally  unfitted  for  the  proposed  responsibility. 

The  one  point  upon  which  Elliot  and  Charles'  wiser 
counsellors  were  agreed  was  the  necessity  of  instilling 
into  his  mind  a  dread  of  the  injury  to  be  suffered  by 
his  cause  should  the  suspicion  be  entertained  that  he 
was  governed  by  his  mother  ;  and  bearing  in  mind  the 
statement  made  by  Hyde  to  Nicholas  a  few  months 
earlier,  to  the  effect  that  the  King  had  as  ill  an 
opinion  of  Jermyn,  "  the  greatest  flatterer  living,"  as 
his  correspondent,  it  will  be  seen  that  the  elements  at 
the  court  of  Saint-Germain  were  not  likely  to  coalesce. 
It  was  in  this  condition  that  matters  were  found  bv 
Hyde  when  he  and  Lord  Cottington,  deputed  to  pro- 
ceed on  a  mission  to  the  court  of  Madrid,  arrived 
in  France  shortly  after  the  King.  The  Chancellor  was 
quickly  made  the  confidant  of  both  parties.  Charles  lost 
no  time  in  lodging  with  him  complaints  of  his  mother's 
ill-humour,  using  in  making  them  "  a  more  exalted 
dialect '  than  formerly.  A  private  and  confidential 
interview  with  the  Queen  followed,  when  the  new- 
comer was,  in  turn,  duly  acquainted  with  her  grievances, 
with  the  King's  unkindness,  Elliot's  credit  with  him, 
and  his  rudeness  to  herself.  Adding  professions  of 
goodwill  towards  the  Chancellor,  she  expressed  her 
willingness  that  he  should  act  as  intermediary  between 
the  belligerent  parties,  and  do  what  he  could  to  restore 
peace.  Though  little  love  might  be  lost  between  the 
Queen    and    her    husband's   old    servant,  she  knew  him 


MOTHER   AND   SON  407 

to  be  trusty  and  true,  and  at  the  present  juncture  was 
glad  to  make  use  of  his  hold  upon  the  King  to  counteract 
the  mischievous  influence  of  the  upstart  Elliot. 

Charles,  taken  to  task  by  his  monitor,  was  plausible 
in  his  defence.  He  was  genuinely  fond  of  his  mother, 
though  impatient  of  her  dictation  and,  not  unreasonably, 
afraid  of  affording  grounds  for  the  belief  that  he  was 
ruled  by  her.  With  regard  to  Elliot  he  was  disposed 
to  hold  his  ground.  He  knew  the  man  to  be  honest, 
he  said,  and  loved  him  well  ;  and  though  denying  that 
he  was  actually  pledged  to  make  his  father-in-law 
Secretary,   he   admitted   that  such  was  his  intention.1 

A  second  question  at  issue  between  the   Queen  and 
her     son    was    that    of    the    religion     of    his     youngest 
sister.      When    Charles    attempted    to    argue    the   point 
with  her,  she  not    unnaturally   evinced   a    determination 
to   continue   to   bring    the   child  up   in    her    own    faith  ; 
and    Charles,   having    failed   to  turn  her    from   her    pur- 
pose,  desired  the  Chancellor  to    try   what  he   could    do. 
The   office  of  intermediary   is   not   a    grateful    one,   and 
Hyde  must  have   known    that    his    chances    of    success 
were    small.      He  nevertheless  obeyed,  speaking,   to  use 
his   own  words,    as  well   as    if  it  had  been    to    save    his 
life,  and  using  all  the  arguments  most  calculated  to  carry 
weight — the  suspicion  which  would  fall  upon  the  King, 
the    damage    to    Henrietta  in   the    eyes    of  the  English 
people,  and,  finally,  the  "  irrecoverable  ruin  to  the  lady  " 
of  five  years  old. 

Henrietta,    as    might    have     been    expected,    proved 
stubborn.     She  urged  the  articles  of  her  marriage  treaty, 

1  This  intention  was  afterwards  frustrated  by  a  jest  of  Lord  Cottington, 
who  gravely  requested  the  King  to  make  a  falconer,  old  and  in  poverty, 
his  chaplain,  on  the  grounds  that  he  was  no  less  qualified  for  the  post 
than   Windham  to  be  Secretary. 


4o8  HENRIETTA   MARIA 

declared  herself  to  have  had  the  late  King's  consent, 
and  showed  herself  fully  resolved  to  continue  her  child's 
education  as  she  had  begun  it.  It  was  clear  that  nothing 
could  be  done  in  the  matter,  and  both  Charles  and  the 
Chancellor  had  no  alternative  but  to  allow  the  Queen 
her  own  way. 

It  is  curious  to  contrast  the  rose-coloured  account 
given  by  Henrietta  of  her  relations  with  her  son  with 
the  description  of  them  furnished  by  the  Chancellor. 
Whatever  might  be  her  private  grounds  of  dissatisfaction, 
she  was  not  inclined  to  make  them  public.  "  I  think 
you  will  not  be  sorry,"  she  wrote  to  her  sister  in 
July,  "  when  I  tell  you  that  the  King  lives  with  me 
in  the  greatest  affection  that  is  possible.  You,  who 
have  a  son  who  treats  you  in  the  same  manner,  can  judge 
what  this  is  to  a  mother." 

The  difficulties  that  had  arisen  may  have  contributed 
to  lessen  Henrietta's  regret  at  the  conclusion  of  the 
King's  visit.  His  presence  in  France  was  desired  neither 
by  court  nor  minister,  and  though  the  news  from 
Ireland  and  Cromwell's  arrival  in  that  country  had 
caused  him  to  abandon  his  intention  of  proceeding  thither, 
it  was  decided  that  he  should  await  the  course  of  events 
in  Jersey  rather  than  prolong  his  stay  in  a  country 
where  he  was  an  unwelcome  guest. 

When  the  time  of  his  departure  drew  near,  it 
occurred  to  Mademoiselle  that  it  was  but  fitting  that 
she  should  pay  her  respects  to  the  mother  and  take 
leave  of  the  son,  in  whom  she  probably  continued  to  feel 
the  interest  attaching  to  a  possible  lover.  An  event  had, 
however,  occurred  since  their  meeting  at  Compiegne 
carrying  with  it  the  downfall  of  any  hopes  that  might 
have  been  cherished  by  Henrietta.  The  Emperor  was 
once    more   a  widower,    and    Mademoiselle's    eyes    were 


A   VISIT    FROM    MADEMOISELLE         409 

again  turned  in  his  direction.  A  dignified  silence  upon 
the  subject  of  her  disappointment  was  not  likely  to 
be  observed  by  the  Queen  ;  and  her  references  to  the 
designs  she  shrewdly  surmised  to  exist  on  the  part  of 
her  niece  were  marked  by  both  temper  and  bad  taste. 

"  I  must  congratulate  you,"  she  told  her  visitor,  "  upon 
the  death  of  the  Empress.  If  the  affair  came  to  nothing 
before,  it  has  every  appearance  of  being  now  brought 
to  a  successful  conclusion." 

Mademoiselle  made  the  inevitable  reply  that  the 
arrangement  to  which  her  aunt's  words  pointed  had  no 
place  in  her  thoughts.  But  Henrietta  refused  to  be 
silenced.  Here  was  a  man,  she  said — Charles  being 
present — who  was  persuaded  that  a  king  of  eighteen  was 
better  worth  having  than  an  emperor  of  fifty,  with  four 
children.  Her  son,  however,  was  too  much  of  a  beggar 
and  too  wretched  for  Mademoiselle.  Then,  pointing 
out  an  English  lady,  she  added  that  Charles  was  in  love 
with  her  :  "  He  is  afraid  that  you  should  know  it.  See 
how  ashamed  he  is  that  you  should  meet  her,  lest  I 
should  tell  you." 

If  the  words  were  prompted  by  a  desire  to  rouse  the 
heiress  to  jealousy,  the  attempt  was  a  failure,  and  Henrietta 
changed  her  tactics.  The  King  having  by  this  time  with- 
drawn, she  took  her  niece  into  a  room  apart,  and  spoke 
to  her  with  greater  seriousness.  Her  son,  she  said,  had 
begged  her  to  ask  her  pardon  if  the  proposal  made 
at  Compiegne  had  displeased  her.  He  was  pursued 
by  the  thought,  and  it  was  causing  him  despair.  For 
her  own  part,  she  would  not  have  charged  herself  with 
the  message  had  not  his  entreaties  rendered  it  impossible 
for  her  to  refuse.  She  was  of  her  niece's  own  opinion. 
Had  Mademoiselle  shared  his  evil  fortune,  she  would 
have    been    miserable.     All    Henrietta    desired  was    that 


4i o  HENRIETTA    MARIA 

his   present  journey   should  prosper,  and  that  in  future 
days  his  cousin  should  wish  him  well. 

Mademoiselle  made  due  acknowledgments,  and  the 
visit  might  here  have  concluded.  But  when  it  ap- 
peared that  Mademoiselle  was  proceeding  to  a  convent 
at  Poissy,  to  visit  her  half-sisters,  both  the  Duke  of 
York  and  his  elder  brother  offered  to  escort  her  thither. 
Their  cousin  demurred.  The  Duke,  it  was  true,  was 
no  more  than  a  little  boy,  but  Charles  came  under  a 
different  category  ;  and  in  the  end  her  scruples  were 
only  removed  when  the  King  had  induced  his  mother 
to  be  of  the  party. 

Conversation  during  the  ensuing  drive  was  eminently 
personal.  Henrietta  enlarged  upon  the  affection  the 
King  would  entertain  for  the  woman  who  should  become 
his  wife.  She  alone  would  absorb  his  love,  predicted  the 
mother  ;  whilst  Charles,  endorsing  all  she  said,  piously 
declared  himself  unable  to  understand  how  a  man  pos- 
sessing a  reasonable  wife  could  ever  love  another  woman. 
Whatever  sentiments  of  the  kind  he  might  entertain 
beforehand,  from  the  moment  that  he  was  a  married  man 
they  would  end.  "  I  believed  (and  it  was  likely  enough)," 
adds  Mademoiselle,  "  that  all  this  discourse  was  not  with- 
out an  object.  I  remained  but  a  short  time  at  Poissy, 
for  it  was  late.  I  took  leave  of  the  Queen,  who  stayed 
there.  The  King  led  me  to  my  carriage  and  made  me 
the  necessary  compliments,  but  without  any  douceurs. 
They  would  in  any  case  have  been  useless.  I  was  already 
thinking  of  nothing  but  the  empire." 

Thus  Charles  took  leave  of  Mademoiselle  and  started 
to  seek  his  fortune  afresh. 


CHAPTER    XX 

1649 — 1651 

Chaillot — The  Christmas  of  1649 — Opposition  to  the  Queen  amongst 
Royalists — Its  causes — Jermyn — Hyde's  correspondence — Meeting  of 
Queen  and  King  at  Beauvais — Henrietta's  indignation  at  Charles' 
compact  with  the  Scotch — Disorders  in  Paris — Death  of  Princess 
Elizabeth — Quarrels  with  the  Duke  of  York — Death  of  the  Prince  of 
Orange — Nicholas  and  Ormond — Lord  Dig  by — Religious  ministrations 
to  the  English  refugees — Walter  Montagu's  influence — Return  of  the 
Duke  of  York — Worcester. 

IT  was  not  until  the  following  spring  that  Charles  left 
Jersey  to  make  his  way  to  Scotland.  The  descent 
upon  Ireland  originally  planned  having  been  rendered 
impossible,  Henrietta  was,  on  the  whole,  in  favour  of 
substituting  the  northern  kingdom  as  a  basis  of  operations. 

Her  own  winter  must  have  been  a  dreary  one.  On 
the  King's  departure  she  had  quitted  Saint-Germain,  to 
return  to  her  old  quarters  at  the  Louvre  ;  and,  with  the 
exception  of  some  weeks  spent  at  Bourbon,  autumn  and 
winter  had  been  passed  at  Paris.  In  poverty,  separated 
from  her  son,  and  with  little  to  alleviate  the  hardships 
of  her  lot,  she  now  began,  according  to  Clarendon,  to 
entertain  the  idea  of  that  conventual  retirement  "  which 
from  this  time  she  practised  by  degrees." 

The  thought  had  not  been  absent  from  her  at  an 
earlier  date.  "  I  own,"  she  wrote  to  her  sister  some 
three  months  after  the  King's  execution,  "  that  my 
inclination  is   to  retire  to  the  Carmelites  ;  and  if  I   rind 

411 


4i2  HENRIETTA    MARIA 

the  King  has   no    need  of  me,    I   shall  do  so  ;  for  after 
my  loss   I   can  have  no  moment   of  any  joy." 

That  she  should  withdraw  altogether  from  the  world 
was  not  possible.  Had  no  other  motive  barred  the  way, 
the  little  hands  of  Henriette-Anne  would  probably  have 
availed  to  hold  her  back.  But  a  place  of  occasional 
retreat  seemed  a  necessity,  and  she  was  already  considering 
the  alternatives  open  to  her.  At  the  Carmelites  her  visits 
were  inevitably  a  cause  of  disturbance  to  the  nuns  ;  whilst 
she  declined  the  offer  of  a  refuge  made  by  the  convent 
of  Port  Royal.  It  was  at  Chaillot,  in  a  house  that  had 
belonged  to  Bassompierre,  her  father's  friend,  that  she 
eventually  established  herself ;  founding  there,  not  with- 
out opposition,  a  convent  of  the  order  of  the  Visitation, 
and  retaining  in  it  apartments,  overlooking  the  Seine  and 
Paris,  ready  to  receive  her  at  such  times  as  she  desired 
to  resort  thither. 

In  this  retreat,  now  the  site  of  the  Trocadero,  no 
small  portion  of  Henrietta's  latter  years  were  spent  ;  and 
she  grew  to  love  the  place.  "  Without  professing  to 
be  devote"  says  Madame  de  Motteville,  "  she  was  so 
to  a  high  degree."  Her  religious  feelings,  often  im- 
prudently displayed,  had  ever  been  strong  and  genuine. 
Headstrong  in  such  matters,  as  in  everything  else,  her 
piety  showed  the  defects  of  its  qualities.  If  it  was  like 
a  child's  in  its  simplicity,  it  was  liable  to  be  marred  by 
childish  puerilities  ;  if  it  was  the  dominating  principle 
of  her  life,  her  zeal  was  far  from  being  according  to 
knowledge.  Yet  she  loved  God,  if  not  altogether  wisely, 
well.  Her  faith  was  no  mere  adhesion  to  doctrine,  nor 
practice  of  outward  formalities,  but  animated  and  in- 
formed her  life  ;  and  the  misfortunes  that  had  wrecked 
her  happiness  had  driven  her  more  and  more  to  seek 
in  religion  the  comfort   and    consolation  she  was  denied 


CHAILLOT  413 

elsewhere.  To  the  quiet  precincts  where  the  echoes  of 
tumult  and  dissension  penetrated  but  faintly,  and  the 
sound  of  jarring  voices  was  unheard,  she  turned  with 
growing  relief. 

At  Chaillot  as  years  went  by  she  received  visits  from 
the  Queen-Mother,  who  would  come  accompanied  by 
her  son,  leaving  him  to  walk  in  the  convent  garden 
whilst  she  herself  conversed  with  Henrietta  within.  A 
graphic  description  of  one  of  these  visits  is  furnished  in 
a  memoir  drawn  in  part  from  material  supplied  by  the 
nuns.  On  this  occasion,  Louis,  apparently  wearying  of 
conventual  tranquillity,  had  conceived  a  desire  to  in- 
troduce his  caliche  within  the  walls.  To  gratify  this 
wish  his  young  companions  broke  down  the  door  ;  a 
crowd  rushed  in,  overrunning  every  part  of  the  enclosure 
to  which  access  was  possible,  and  an  end  was  only  put  to 
the  scene  of  confusion  by  the  appearance  on  the  balcony 
above  of  the  Queen-Mother,  doubtless  advertised  by  the 
unusual  noise  that  something  untoward  was  in  progress. 
Her  commands  to  Louis  to  stop  the  disorder  were 
promptly  obeyed.  Reduced  at  once  to  penitence,  and 
not  content  with  expelling  the  intruders  without  delay, 
the  little  King  inquired  of  the  Bishop  of  Puy  a  method 
of  repairing  his  transgression  ;  the  gift  of  a  sum  of 
thirty  pistoles  was  named,  and  quiet  and  peace  was 
restored. 

Henriette-Anne,  as  time  went  on,  was  accustomed  to 
accompany  her  mother  on  her  visits  to  Chaillot,  taking 
her  share,  after  the  custom  of  the  day  and  as  a  lesson 
in  humility,  in  attendance  on  the  nuns  ;  so  that  her 
frequent  presence  at  the  convent  was  construed  by  watch- 
ful critics  as  indicating  an  intention  on  the  Queen's  part 
to  make  a  nun  of  the  child — a  project  of  which  mother 
and     daughter    were     equally     innocent.     Another     and 


4i4  HENRIETTA    MARIA 

possibly  more  reluctant  guest  was  Charles  himself,  who, 
it  is  said,  was  at  one  time  taken  by  the  Queen  no  less 
than  thrice  weekly  to  Chaillot,  that  he  might  assist  at 
conferences  there  held  by  the  persons  of  most  ability- 
she  could  gather  together. 

At  Christmastide  of  the  sorrowful  year  of  1649 
Chaillot  was  not  yet  available  as  a  place  of  retreat,  and 
it  was  at  another  convent  that  Henrietta  spent  the  season. 

"  I  believe,"  she  wrote  to  her  sister  on  the  eve  of 
the  festival,  "  you  will  receive  my  thanks  better  from  the 
place  whence  I  write — which  is  the  Carmelites — than  from 
the  world.  Here  dissimulation  does  not  reign,  and  it 
is  also  a  place  where  I  can  render  you  some  service  by 
prayer  to  God.  Although  very  unworthy,  I  think  my- 
self happy  that  I  can  do  this  in  the  thing  that  most 
concerns  us.  If  I  were  good  enough,  you  would  soon 
see  the  effects  of  it.  I  think,"  she  added,  "  that  being 
here  makes  me  write  irrelevantly  to  the  subject  of  my 
letter,"  which  was  to  return  thanks  for   a  gift. 

Another  Christmas  present,  and  a  strange  one,  had 
been  received  by  the  Queen.  The  elder  Princesse  de 
Conde — the  latest  object  of  her  father's  devotion — had 
sent  her  "  an  extraordinary  fat  mutton  .  .  .  and  in  the 
belly  of  the  sheep  were  two  thousand  crowns." 

The  temporary  respite  to  be  enjoyed  in  her  retreat 
from  the  jealousy,  intrigue,  and  backbiting  natural  to 
the  atmosphere  of  a  court  must  have  been  welcome  to 
Henrietta.  Such  an  atmosphere  was  accentuated  by  the 
existence  of  the  rival  factions  into  which  the  Royalist 
party  was  divided  ;  and  by  the  fact,  mentioned  by  Sir 
John  Berkeley,  that  so  strong  was  the  feeling  against 
Henrietta  entertained  by  a  large  number  of  her  son's 
adherents,  that  opposition  to  her  imaginary  power  over 
the   King  was  the  chief  link  by  which   they  were  united. 


THE   QUEEN   AND   JERMYN  415 

For  some  of  this  prejudice  the  Queen  was  respons- 
ible.    Her  friendship  for  Jermyn  was  to  the  last  degree 
unfortunate.      Allowing    for    the    animosity    almost    in- 
variably aroused  by  the  favouritism  of  a  sovereign,  the 
consensus   of  opinion   against   him   amongst   trustworthy 
judges   is   conclusive  as  to   his    unfitness   to    occupy  the 
post  of  the   Queen's   confidant   and  counsellor.     But   it 
must  be  borne  in  mind,  in  her  defence,  that,  unlike  many 
others,  his  faithfulness  in  misfortune  as  well  as  in  pros- 
perity had  been  unwavering  ;    and  the  consciousness  of 
the  hatred  of  which  he  was  the  object  will  have  gone  far 
to   enlist  in  a  greater  and   greater    measure  on  his  side 
the  sympathies  of  a  high-spirited  and  generous  woman. 
Amongst  the  multiplicity   of  charges  against  him    some 
were    probably    true  ;     but    the    exaggeration    of   others 
would    discredit    in    Henrietta's  eyes   the  good   faith  of 
those  responsible  for  them.     It  was  a  time  when  no  sin 
was  too    black    to    be    laid  to    the    charge   of   an  oppo- 
nent— witness  the   accusations   brought  later   on   against 
Hyde  himself,    including  intrigues  with   Cromwell  ;  and 
a  palpable  gossip-monger  like  Lord  Hatton  was  always 
ready,  in   the   pleasant  news-letters   he  sent  from  Paris, 
to    stir     up    fresh    suspicion    against    the    favourite.      In 
October  he  was  writing,  with  regard  to  an  alleged  attempt 
to  make  mischief  for  him  with  the  Queen,  that  it  was 
Jermyn's   design  and  that  of  another  unpopular  person, 
Long,   the    King's   secretary,   to   engage   her   to    espouse 
Jermyn's  quarrels  as  her  own.      And  when  the  pawning 
or  selling  of  jewels  was  in  question,  he  did  not  hesitate 
to   assert  that   the  business  would  be  found  a  "  notable 
juggle  "  ;  that  Jermyn  was  author  of  it  ;  and  that,  so  long 
as   he  could  shelter  himself  behind  the   Queen,  nothing 
but  trickery  was  to  be  expected.      Darker  hints  of  worse 
things  than  dishonesty  were  not  wanting  in  the  insinuation 


4i 6  HENRIETTA   MARIA 

that   designs   entertained  at    the  Louvre   were  over-well 
known  at  Westminster. 

That  Jermyn  was  in  possession  of  ample  means,  when 
most  of  the  refugee  English  were  in  abject  poverty, 
excused,  if  not  justified,  a  certain  amount  of  suspicion 
on  the  part  of  men  to  whom  he  was  an  object  of 
dislike  ;  and  Hatton  did  not  scruple  to  suggest  that 
his  aim  was  to  possess  himself  of  all  the  Queen  was 
worth.  It  is,  however,  asserted  by  others  that,  having 
invested  in  good  time  large  sums  of  money  abroad,  he 
was  not  only  able  to  live  in  comfort  himself,  but  to 
supplement  on  occasion  Henrietta's  slender  income  from 
his  private  resources.  On  the  whole,  taking  the  circum- 
stances into  consideration,  and  the  intimacy  and  friendship 
between  the  Queen  and  her  servant  being  what  it  was,  it 
is  no  wonder  that,  at  a  period  when  a  union  of  the  kind 
would  have  been  in  no  wise  without  precedent,  it  was 
asserted  at  the  time,  and  has  been  constantly  repeated 
since,  that  a  secret  marriage  bond  existed  between 
Henrietta  and  the  man  who  filled  so  many  posts  in 
her  reduced  household.  But  the  evidence  in  support  of 
this  hypothesis  is  of  the  slenderest  nature,  whilst  not 
a  few  considerations  make  it  improbable  that  the  story 
is  founded  on  fact.  The  question,  however,  must  be 
pronounced  one  of  those  undetermined  by  history.1 

Whatever    may   have    been    the  true    nature  of  the 

relations    between    Henrietta    and    her    favourite,    there 

can  be  no  question  that  the  bond,  whether  of  friendship 

or  of  something  stronger   than  friendship,  coupled  with 

the    distrust   for    Jermyn   felt  by   the   wisest    and  most 

loyal  of  the  King's  advisers,  was    largely  the  cause    of 

a  reserve  practised  towards   Henrietta,  and  adding  much 

1  See  Appendix  for  evidence  for  and  against  the  Queen's  marriage  with 
Jermyn, 


CHARLES'    RETICENCE  417 

to  the  anxiety  and  uneasiness  inseparable  from  her 
position.  It  was  taken  for  granted  that  Jermyn  was  also 
acquainted  with  what  the  Queen  knew,  and  there  were 
not  a  few  Royalists,  ready  to  risk  life  and  fortune  in 
Charles'  cause,  who  would  have  wholly  declined  to  place 
them  in  the  hands  of  his  mother's  favourite.  The 
King  can,  therefore,  scarcely  be  blamed  if  he  deferred 
to  the  advice  of  those  by  whom  he  was  surrounded, 
and  continued  in  Jersey  the  system  of  reticence  in- 
augurated at  Saint-Germain.  But  to  his  mother  the 
exclusion  from  his  counsels  was  the  cause  of  much 
bitterness. 

"  I  entreat  you,"  she  wrote  to  her  sister,  referring  to 
an  envoy  sent  from  Jersey  to  Savoy,  "  to  tell  him  that 
you  wish  to  let  me  know  what  he  has  to  say  before 
making  any  reply.  You  will  oblige  me  extremely.  It 
must  seem  a  little  strange  to  you  that  I  know  nothing 
of  his  commission."  The  confession  must  have  cost 
Henrietta  no  small  amount  of  humiliation,  more  especi- 
ally after  the  boast  she  had  made  of  her  son's  affection  ; 
and  the  suspicion  that  plans  were  laid  and  decisions 
taken  of  which  she  was  deliberately  kept  in  ignorance, 
will  have  added  appreciably  to  the  restless  disquietude 
of  her  situation. 

It  might  possibly  have  been  a  source  of  consolation 
had  she  known  that  others  besides  herself  had  cause  to 
complain  of  ignorance  of  the  King's  plans.  Nicholas, 
it  was  true,  was  with  him  in  Jersey,  but  Hyde  and 
Cottington  were  still  in  Spain,  detained  there  on  Charles' 
business,  and  the  Chancellor  himself  was  complaining 
that  for  four  months  past  no  word  had  reached  him 
from  Jersey,  nor  any  information  as  to  the  King's  plans. 
Had  he  been  at  Constantinople  he  would  have  known 
more. 


4i8  HENRIETTA    MARIA 

He    was    at    the  time   ill   content  with  the  world  in 
general,  and   a   budget    of  letters   despatched  in  March 
reflects    not    only    the    condition   of  his   own    mind  and 
temper,  but  the   prevailing  disunion  amongst  Royalists. 
A  cloud  had  evidently  risen  even  between  his  old  friend 
Nicholas    and    himself,    so    that    he    was    compelled    to 
rebut    the    charge    of    having    deceived    and    abandoned 
the  Secretary  by  persuading  him  to  remain  behind  when 
Hyde  had  left  the  court  for  Madrid.     He  regretted  to 
hear  that  Berkeley,  governor  to  the  Duke  of  York,  had 
been  taking   the    liberty  of  censuring    living  and   dead, 
and    had    moreover    been    so    led    away    by    vain    and 
shallow  persons  as  to  join  with  the  false  and  dishonest 
Jermyn    in    doing    the    honest    Secretary   ill   offices  with 
the  Queen.     That  Lord  Percy  should    have  been  made 
Governor  of  Guernsey   by    the    King   was  a  great    dis- 
couragement and  vexation   to  Hyde,    "  for  always  when 
I  spake  to  him  of  that  man   he   seemed   to  understand 
him  as  well  as  I  did."     As  to  Jermyn,  who  was  probably 
considered    responsible    for   the    appointment,    the   King 
knew    him    to    be  vain,  shallow,  and  false  ;    but  it  was 
Charles'     weakness     not     to    give    public    proof  of  his 
private    sentiments.     If    the    Chancellor    did    not    hope 
that  he  would   outgrow   this  infirmity,    it    would    break 
his   heart.     Hyde    had,  strangely  enough,   fallen    under 
the    suspicion     of    having     courted     favour     from    the 
Queen.       He     deals    with     the     charge    with    unusual 
violence.     He  could  as  easily   turn   witch,  he  said,  and 
give  himself  to  the  devil,  as  descend  to  any  little  vile 
arts    and    tricks   to    gain    any    one's    favour.      He    was 
beginning    to   think  that,   taking  into   account   the   pre- 
judices felt  against  him,  he  might  do  well  to  retire  for 
a    time    from     public    affairs.      In    the     meantime,     he 
wonders  exceedingly — this  in   a  letter  to  Lady  Morton 


AT   BEAU  VMS  419 

— what  the  King  meant  by  saying  that  it  had  been 
he  who  made  him  give  way  in  the  matter  of  the 
Princess's  religion  ;  unless  it  were  that,  seeing  the 
Queen's  passion  and  resolution,  he  could  not  advise 
him  what  to  do,  having  no  place  whither  he  could 
remove  his  sister,  or  means  of  supporting  her  had  he 
done  so. 

In  brief,  it  is  clear  that,  in  the  Chancellor's  estimation, 
things  in  general  were  going  ill  ;  and  that  the  scanty 
information  which  reached  him  did  not  conduce  to  his 
peace  of  mind. 

In  the  very  month  that  Hyde  was  making  his 
complaints  of  lack  of  news,  Charles  had  decided — ■ 
acting  in  this  instance  with  his  mother's  knowledge 
and  approval — upon  meeting  the  Scotch  commissioners, 
with  a  view  to  an  arrangement  enabling  him  to  repair 
to  Scotland  in  person.  Writing  to  urge  upon  him  this 
course,  Henrietta  offered  to  meet  the  King  on  his  way 
to  Holland,  in  order  that  consultation  might  be  held 
upon  his  future  plans. 

The  suggested  conference  took  place  at  Beauvais, 
where  Charles  remained  nearly  a  fortnight.  Henrietta's 
advice  was  that  he  should  neither  take  the  Covenant, 
abandon  the  Irish,  nor  give  up  his  own  adherents.  At 
the  time  he  may  have  intended  to  act  upon  it.  But  his 
attitude  towards  religion  bore  more  resemblance  to  his 
Bearnois  grandfather's  than  to  that  of  his  father  or  mother  ; 
and  when  he  left  Holland  he  had  signed  the  treaty  of 
Breda,  pledging  him,  should  it  be  required  by  the 
Scotch  Parliament,   to  accept  the  Covenant. 

Henrietta's  grief  and  indignation  were  great.  The 
bias  of  the  Queen's  court  had  been  believed  to  be  in 
favour  of  concessions  to  Presbytcrianism  ;  and  Hatton  had, 
some    months    earlier,    made    allusion    to    the    "Louvre 

VOL.    II.  8 


42o  HENRIETTA    MARIA 

Presbyter  and  Scot  design."  But  it  was  evident  that  any- 
such  design  had  not  included  Charles'  present  action. 
To  himself  his  mother  wrote  that  though  continuing  to 
love  him  as  a  son,  she  would  never  again  be  his  political 
adviser.  To  her  friends  at  the  convent  she  spoke  with 
tears  of  his  "  condescensions  "  to  the  Scotch,  adding  that 
he  had  renounced  and  deserted  his  own  religion,  engaged 
himself  to  persecute  hers,  and  thus  not  only  exasperated 
Catholic  princes,  but  disabled  her  from  doing  him  service. 
Upon  Lady  Boyle  boldly  observing  that  the  Queen 
was  believed  to  be  responsible  for  the  King's  present 
agreement  with  the  Scotch,  Henrietta  vehemently  denied 
the  charge.  "  God  forbid,"  she  said,  "  that  I  should 
have  had  a  hand  in  persuading  him  to  sacrifice  his  honour 
or  conscience." 

On  her  return  from  Beauvais,  Henrietta  appears  to 
have  conversed  with  Mademoiselle  rather  upon  personal 
than  upon  political  matters.  She  had,  she  told  her  niece, 
found  the  King  incorrigible.  He  loved  his  cousin  more 
than  ever  ;  whilst  she  added — it  is  difficult  to  see  why — 
that  she  had  chidden  him  severely  on  that  account.  It 
was  nevertheless  plain  that  she  was  doing  her  best  to 
keep  up  the  heiress's  interest  in  the  wanderer.  "  Often," 
says  Mademoiselle,  "  did  she  talk  to  me  of  him." 
When  it  is  remembered  that  in  selecting  a  third  wife 
the  Emperor's  choice  had  not  fallen  upon  Henrietta's 
niece,  it  may  be  believed  that  she  listened  the  more 
willingly  to  the  mother's  discourse. 

Amongst  the  items  of  intelligence  imparted  by 
Henrietta,  it  would  be  curious  to  learn  whether  she 
included  the  arrival  of  a  messenger  early  in  the  following 
year,  charged  with  the  expression  of  her  son's  hopes 
that  the  Queen  would  bestow  her  approval  upon  an 
alliance  with  Lady  Anne  Campbell,  daughter  to  the  Duke 


DISTURBANCES   IN    PARIS  421 

of  Argyle.  Henrietta  gave  her  voice  against  the  match, 
and  may  have  kept  her  own  council  concerning  the 
plan. 

Not  till  eighteen  months  after  the  parting  at  Beauvais 
was  the  Queen  to  see  her  son  again.  Meantime,  disorders 
and  dissensions  in  Paris  had  not  diminished  ;  and  in 
January  1 6 50  the  Regent  had  ventured  upon  the  bold  stroke 
of  arresting  the  Princes  of  Conde  and  Conti,  with  their 
brother-in-law  the  Due  de  Longueville.  The  necessitous 
condition  of  the  French  court  was  reflected  in  the  state 
of  Henrietta's  finances  ;  and  a  month  after  her  return 
from  Beauvais  she  was  writing  to  her  sister  from  the 
Carmelites  that  she  found  herself  compelled  to  retrench 
her  expenditure  and  to  live  like  a  poor  damoiselle  upon 
the  sixty  thousand  francs  a  year  allowed  her  by  the  Queen 
Regent.  It  was  much  for  France  to  give,  she  added,  in 
the  present  condition  of  affairs,  though  little  for  her  own 
needs.  "  But  I  am  so  much  accustomed  to  miseries,  so 
great  and  so  irremediable,  that  this  is  nothing." 

There  was  both  courage  and  dignity  in  Henrietta's 
manner  of  meeting  comparative  poverty  ;  and,  later  on, 
Madame  de  Motteville  describes  her  at  Chaillot  as  taking 
charge,  without  repugnance  or  grief,  of  her  expenses, 
at  that  time  very  small,  and  keeping  her  accounts,  to 
use  her  own  words,  like  a  poor  damoiselle. 

Whilst  the  disturbances  in  France  threatened  to 
deprive  Henrietta  of  an  income,  they  appeared  to  her 
not  unlikely  to  rob  her  nephew  of  his  crown.  Looking 
sadly  on  and  remembering  her  past,  she  anxiously  awaited 
the  issue  of  the  struggle  taking  place  before  her  eyes. 
"  For  me,"  she  wrote  in  August,  "  who  have  seen  the 
beginnings  in  England  altogether  similar  to  these,  you  may 
judge  in  what  trouble  I  am.  I  hope  God  will  take  care 
of  the  poor  little  King."     Besides  less  personal  anxieties, 


422  HENRIETTA   MARIA 

she  had  sorrows  and  cares  of  her  own  to  occupy 
her  during  the  summer  and  autumn  of  1650.  In 
September  the  battle  of  Dunbar  resulted  in  Cromwell's 
complete  mastery  in  Scotland  ;  and  on  the  8th  of  the 
same  month  the  Princess  Elizabeth  died  at  Carisbrooke, 
"  of  a  malignant  fever,"  according  to  Mayerne,  the  royal 
physician,  "  which  constantly  increased,  despite  medicine 
and  remedies."  Henrietta  gave  a  different  account. 
"  It  has  pleased  God,"  she  wrote  to  her  sister,  "  to 
send  me  another  affliction — the  death  of  my  daughter 
Elizabeth.  Although,  for  her  part,  she  is  very  happy 
to  be  out  of  the  hands  of  those  traitors  in  which  she 
was,  I  cannot  help  grieving  greatly,  nature  having  at 
the  first  more  power  than  reason.  She  died  from  grief 
at  finding  herself  brought  to  the  same  castle  where  her 
father  had  been  a  prisoner,  and  in  a  place  where  she 
had  no  assistance  in  her  malady — a  fever  of  which  she 
died  on  the  tenth  day.  I  am  very  sorry  to  write  you 
so  melancholy  a  letter,  but  since  you  are  good  enough 
to  desire  news  of  me  it  can  be  but  sad." 

Close  upon  this  trouble  followed  another.  None  of 
her  children  were  destined  to  be  a  source  of  unmixed 
satisfaction  to  the  Queen.  Her  intercourse  with 
Charles  had  been  attended  with  much  disappointment ; 
and  the  Duke  of  York  was  to  occasion  her  more. 
At  his  departure  from  Scotland,  Charles,  following  his 
father's  example,  had  directed  his  brother  to  conform 
in  all  things,  save  religion,  to  the  Queen's  will.  It 
was  a  precept  the  young  King  had  not  found  easy  to 
observe ;  and  though  in  James'  position  the  dictates  of  filial 
piety  and  duty  were,  as  Clarendon  observes,  supplemented 
by  his  absolute  dependence  upon  his  mother  in  material 
matters,  the  younger  brother  was  no  more  inclined  to 
submit  to  her  authority  than  her  eldest  son.     She  had 


J 


I  nun  a  drawing  by  1'<i<i  Paul  Rubens  in  the  British  Museum 

SIR   THEODORE   MAYERNE. 


DUKE   OF   YORK    INSUBORDINATE     423 

once  again  played  her  cards  ill.  Not  only  had  she 
failed  to  render  life  in  Paris  pleasant  to  the  Duke,  but 
had  used  the  same  "  austere  carriage "  towards  him  as 
to  Charles  himself,  with  a  like  result.  A  letter  of 
Lord  Hatton's  to  Nicholas  gives  a  graphic  description 
of  the  relations  at  this  juncture  between  mother  and 
son.  It  is  true  that  Hyde  warned  Nicholas  that  his 
noble  friend  was  liable,  in  his  news-letters,  to  be  guilty 
of  "  mistakes,"  and  that  all  discontented  persons  were 
accustomed  to  resort  to  him  ;  yet  his  gossip  in  this 
case,  corroborated  by  the  evidence  supplied  by  the 
Duke's  conduct,  had  probably  an  element  of  truth 
in  it.  Henrietta,  he  said,  omitted  no  opportunity  of 
expressing  her  undervalue  of  the  Duke,  where  she 
thought  she  could  do  it  secretly  ;  and  had  lately  told 
a  lady  that  the  boy  had  said  that,  in  his  opinion,  his 
mother  loved  and  valued  Lord  Jermyn  more  than  all 
her  children.  When  her  confidante  begged  her  not  to 
give  ear  to  these  tales,  she  answered  that  it  was  to  the 
King  himself  that  the  Duke  had  made  the  offensive 
observation,  and  that  Charles,  who  was  of  better  nature 
than  his  brother,  had  repeated  it  to  her.  With  much 
more  of  great  bitterness.  "  All  which  being  reported 
again  to  the  Duke  of  York,  I  leave  you  to  consider 
what  impressions  these  things  may  [make]  in  each  of 
them."  According  to  Nicholas,  writing  some  months 
later,  causeless  jealousies  had  been  raised  between  the  boy 
and  his  elder  brother  ;  the  Duke  did  not  conceive  that 
the  Queen  or  any  about  her  esteemed  or  had  much 
kindness  for  him  ;  and  if  he  continued  to  be  misrepre- 
sented, and  his  person  "by  the  Queen  and  her  sycophants 
rendered  contemptible  in  their  table  discourses,"  trouble 
might  come  of  it. 

Nicholas'    letter  was  written  at  a  date,  April   1651, 


424  HENRIETTA   MARIA 

when  the  Duke  had  had  time  to  repent  at  leisure  of 
the  step  he  had  taken  to  put  an  end  to  the  conditions 
attaching  to  his  life  in  Paris.  In  the  autumn  of  the 
preceding  year,  dislike  of  those  conditions  had  combined 
with  a  spirit  of  adventure  to  render  the  lad  eager  to 
seek  his  fortune  elsewhere  ;  and  on  a  certain  day  he 
made  the  sudden  and  startling  announcement  to  his 
mother  that  it  was  his  intention  to  start  at  once  for 
Belgium  and  there  to  visit  the  Duke  of  Lorraine, 
who  he  had  reason  to  believe  might  put  him  in  the 
way  of  action.  When  it  further  transpired  that  the 
counsellors  who  had  instigated  the  act  of  defiance  were 
provided  with  money  to  enable  him  to  carry  it  into 
effect,  Henrietta  was  powerless  to  interpose.  It  only 
remained  to  make  the  best  of  a  bad  business,  which 
she  accordingly  proceeded  to  do.  Her  own  account 
of  the  affair  is  given  in  an  explanatory  letter  to  Mazarin. 
By  this  it  appears  that  the  alternative  of  serving  in  the 
armies  of  France  had  been  offered  to  the  boy,  and  that 
his  mother  would  have  gladly  had  him  accept  it.  But 
again  she  has  to  admit  her  own  impotence  :  u  I  must 
confess  how  little  power  I  have  over  him.  He  insisted 
on  going  to  Flanders,  and  without  telling  me  of  his 
plans,  saying  that  he  was  bound  by  oath  not  to  do  so. 
He  has,  however,  promised  me  to  take  no  employment 
against  France.  I  ought  to  be  ashamed  of  avowing  this 
affair  between  me  and  the  Duke  of  York,  but  I  wish 
to  use  the  candour  with  you  concerning  all  my  business 
of  which  I  have  always  made  profession,  and  I  protest 
that  it  is  much  against  my  will  that  he  has  gone  to 
Flanders." 

There  is  something  pathetic,  when  Henrietta's  per- 
sonal griefs  and  anxieties  are  borne  in  mind,  in  the  eager 
sympathy    she    displays    in     the    more    cheerful    events 


DEATH   OF   PRINCE   OF   ORANGE       425 

occurring  in  her  sister's  family.  A  daughter  of  the 
Duchess  of  Savoy  was  to  be  married,  and  already,  in 
October,  Henrietta  had  placed  "  her  little  knowledge  " 
in  matters  of  dress  at  the  service  of  the  Savoyard 
Comptroller-General,  charged  with  the  purchase  of 
wedding  garments  in  Paris.  In  November  she  wrote 
to  assure  the  Duchess  of  the  beauty  of  the  gowns  pro- 
vided for  the  bride,  adding  that  her  pleasure  in  them 
was  as  great  as  if  they  were  for  her  own  daughter.  She 
was  intending  to  talk  on  the  subject  to  Mademoiselle 
— that  other  unsatisfactory  niece — who  believed  that 
nothing  was  beautiful  out  of  Paris,  or  except  in  being 
empress. 

Henrietta's  interest  in  Adelaide  of  Savoy's  marriage 
was  no  more  than  a  short  interlude  in  the  quick  sequence 
of  her  sorrows.  In  Holland,  as  elsewhere,  the  evil 
destiny  overshadowing  the  house  of  Stuart  had  made 
itself  felt.  The  young  Prince  of  Orange  had  been  cut 
off  by  an  attack  of  small-pox,  leaving  his  nineteen-year- 
old  wife  daily  expecting  the  birth  of  her  first  child, 
and  carrying  with  him  to  the  grave  many  of  the  hopes 
still  remaining  to  the  Royalist  cause. 

By  Henrietta  the  disaster  was  bitterly  felt.  "  It 
seems,"  she  wrote,  "  that  God  wishes  to  show  me  that 
I  should  detach  myself  altogether  from  this  world,  by 
taking  from  me  those  who  would  lead  me  to  think 
of  it.  The  loss  of  my  son-in-law  makes  me  see  this, 
for  in  him  were  placed  all  my  hopes  for  my  son's 
restoration."  His  wife,  she  added,  had  been  passion- 
ately attached  to  the  Prince,  and  her  mother  could 
only  trust  that  the  child  just  born  might  comfort  her. 
"  For  her  I  hope  much  from  him.  For  myself,  I  am  too 
old  to  see  him  grow  up." 

In   December   Henrietta  must   have  been    disquieted 


426  HENRIETTA   MARIA 

by  the  report  that  the  Duke  of  Lorraine  was  contem- 
plating handing  over  eight  regiments  to  the  Duke  of 
York,  to  be  used  in  the  service  of  the  King  of  Spain 
or  the  Emperor,  a  proceeding  which  would  have  seriously 
complicated  her  own  relations  with  France.  The  plan, 
if  it  had  ever  been  entertained,  died  still-born,  and, 
disappointed  in  his  hopes  of  obtaining  assistance  in 
Flanders,  James  turned  his  thoughts  towards  Holland. 
On  his  way  thither  he  was,  however,  met  by  a  messenger 
from  his  sister,  instructed  to  represent  to  him  that  his 
presence  at  the  Hague  would  be  prejudicial  at  the 
moment  to  her  interests,  and  to  induce  him  to  seek 
shelter  at  a  house  belonging  to  the  Queen  of  Bohemia, 
"  Which  unkindness,"  said  Nicholas,  "  these  Boores  do 
wonder  at.  .  .  .  but  the  good  Princess  doth  but  as 
she  hath  been  advised  from  the  Louvre,  which  is  the 
fountain  of  all  the  factions  here,  and  to  the  whole 
family."  The  worthy  Secretary  would  not  have  scrupled 
to  attribute  any  evil  in  any  quarter  of  the  globe  to  that 
centre  of  iniquity,  "  the  Baal  of  the  Louvre,  which  is  the 
Idol  that  hath  ruined  our  Israel  "  ;  and  the  virulence 
of  his  allusions  to  his  dead  master's  wife  goes  far  to 
justify  Henrietta  in  her  dislike. 

Hatred  begets  hatred  ;  bitterness,  bitterness :  and  it  is 
plain  that  in  Nicholas  the  Queen  was  right  in  recognising 
and  warding  against  an  enemy.  Every  malcontent,  so 
far  as  she  was  concerned,  would  find  a  sympathiser  in 
her  son's  official.  Writing  in  March  to  Ormond,  then  at 
Caen,  the  Secretary  tells  of  those  in  England  ready  to 
devote  themselves  to  the  royal  cause,  on  receiving  direc- 
tions from  the  King,  "  but  none  in  Paris  must  know  of 
their  designs.  The  Louvre  management  of  affairs  had 
been  not  only  unfortunate,  but  ever  so  unsecret "  that  all 
would  be  at  once  known  to  the  rebels.      "  I  am  not  wise 


.-///< ;  the  picture  by  Sir  Peter  Lely  in  tlic  National  /'or/rait  Gallery. 

Photo  hy  Emery  Walker, 


JAMES    B1    l  l  I  K,    FIRST    DUKE   OK   OKJIOM),    K.G. 


NICHOLAS   AND   ORMOND  427 

enough,"  the  Secretary  wrote  again  about  the  same  time, 
"  to  foresee  what  card  shall  be  turned  trumps,  but  I  dare 
boldly  say,  that  be  it  what  it  can  be  in  the  whole  pack, 
the  Louvre  shall  never  have  a  saving  game  in  the  end." 
Nicholas  likewise  enclosed  a  letter  from  a  "  very  discreet 
and  right  affected  person  of  quality "  in  England,  en- 
dorsing his  views,  and  whose  heart  was  almost  broken 
considering  the  results  should  the  King  be  ruled  by  the 
Louvre. 

Ormond's  attitude  towards  their  common  mistress 
marks  the  difference  between  the  great  Royalist  noble  and 
the  bourgeois  Secretary,  no  less  faithful,  but  ready, 
in  his  envenomed  animosity,  to  believe  and  retail  every 
petty  piece  of  gossip  which  might  redound  to  Henrietta's 
discredit.  It  is  not  likely  that,  trusted  and  loved  by 
Hyde  and  the  patron  and  confidant  of  Nicholas  himself, 
Ormond  was  in  greater  sympathy  than  they  with  the 
errors  committed  at  the  Louvre.  Yet  his  comments 
upon  the  Secretary's  complaints,  his  analysis  of  the 
evidence  brought  to  prove  them,  and  above  all  hie 
evident  determination  to  act,  so  far  as  it  was  possible, 
in  concert  with  any  fellow  workers,  however  personally 
distasteful,  in  the  common  cause,  were  marked  by  a 
dignity  and  a  self-restraint  wholly  lacking  in  his  corre- 
spondent. An  extract  from  the  Mercurius  Politicus 
intended  by  Nicholas  to  prove  the  indiscretion,  or  worse 
than  indiscretion,  of  those  at  the  Louvre,  did  not  appear 
to  him  to  contain  proof  positive  of  the  Secretary's 
assertion.  Much  contained  in  it  was  well  known  outside 
the  walls  of  the  palace.  The  Queen's  interposition  as 
a  peacemaker  between  the  Queen-Regent  and  the  Duke 
of  Orleans — to  which  Nicholas  had  taken  exception,  as 
conducted  in  a  manner  to  give  offence  to  the  Condes 
— had    been    unavoidably   put    upon    her,    and    not  very 


428  HENRIETTA    MARIA 

passionately  undertaken  or  prosecuted,  especially  as  to  the 
Cardinal,  for  whom  Ormond  believed  she  had  no  great 
affection.  As  to  the  Duke  of  York,  by  this  time  heartily 
weary  of  the  results  of  his  escapade,  anxious  to  return  to 
Paris  and,  according  to  Nicholas,  suffering  from  unkind- 
ness  or  neglect  on  the  Queen's  part  in  not  summoning 
him  thither  without  delay,  Ormond  pointed  out  that 
it  was  obviously  fit  that  the  Duke  should  wait  until  his 
mother  should  have  obtained  an  invitation  for  him  from 
the  French  court.  Upon  the  general  question,  whilst 
hoping  never  to  be  made  use  of  to  the  prejudice  of 
honest  men,  Ormond  frankly  confessed  that  he  would 
not  refuse  or  disavow  concurrence  to  good  counsels,  by 
whomsoever  they  might  be  offered. 

In  a  letter  to  Henrietta  a  month  or  two  later 
he  no  less  clearly  dissociated  himself  from  the  men 
leagued  against  her  and  determined  to  keep  her  in  the 
dark.  The  question  at  issue  in  this  case  was  a  project 
of  marriage  between  the  Duke  of  York  and  an  illegiti- 
mate daughter  of  the  Duke  of  Lorraine  ;  and  Ormond, 
deprecating  any  displeasure  the  Queen  might  have  felt 
at  the  silence  he  had  maintained  when  first  the  scheme 
was  made  known  to  him,  explains  it  by  his  desire  to 
give  leisure  to  Lord  Taaffe— the  principal  mover  in  the 
affair — to  redeem  his  mistake  in  not  having  himself 
acquainted  her  with  the  matter. 

Amongst  those  at  present  out  of  favour  at  the  Queen's 
court,  it  appears  that  her  old  friend,  Digby,  was  included. 
If  James  had  so  far  shown  no  appreciation  of  the  chance 
of  earning  laurels  under  the  French  flag,  other  English- 
men, and  Digby  amongst  them,  had  availed  themselves 
of  the  opportunity.  Though  offering  his  services  to 
Charles  after  his  father's  execution,  the  late  King's 
Secretary   had  written    to    Hyde   that,   though    confident 


LORD   DIGBY   OUT   OF   FAVOUR        429 

of  the  Queen's  favour  and  Jermyn's  friendship,  it  would 
be  necessary  for  him  to  be  much  satisfied  with  his  new 
master's  affection  were  he  to  be  withdrawn  from  his  in- 
clination to  retire  from  the  affairs  of  an  unvirtuous  and 
unreasonable  world.  That  satisfaction  had  not  been 
afforded  him  ;  but  though  removing  himself  from  the 
exiled  court,  it  had  not  been  to  a  place  offering  facilities 
for  undisturbed  meditation  upon  the  vanity  of  human 
ambition,  but  to  the  French  camp  ;  and  he  was  presently 
excusing  himself  from  yielding  obedience  to  a  summons 
from  Henrietta  on  the  score  of  ruin  to  his  fortunes 
and  honour  should  he  leave  his  command.  At  the 
end  of  the  year  he  had  the  satisfaction  of  being  made 
the  bearer  of  tidings  of  a  victory  gained  over  the  enemies 
of  France,  and  of  bringing,  as  an  offering  to  the  Queen 
Regent,  a  captured  banner  "  more  welcome  to  her  than 
the  finest  diamond  in   the  world." 

Whether  the  services  rendered  to  France  availed 
to  strengthen  Henrietta's  attachment  to  the  man  who 
had  been  her  vowed  liegeman  may  be  questioned. 
In  such  matters  women  are  jealous  of  their  monopoly. 
But  one  would  be  loath  to  believe  the  assertion  made 
by  Hyde  to  Nicholas,  some  fifteen  months  later, 
to  the  effect  that  the  Queen  and  Jermyn  hated  Digby 
more  than  the  Secretary  himself.  Hatred  was  rife  at 
the  Louvre,  and  Jermyn's  dislike  might  be  regarded 
rather  as  a  distinction  than  the  reverse  ;  but  with 
regard  to  Henrietta  it  may  be  hoped  that  the  Chancellor 
was  carried  away  by  personal  animus. 

By  April  1651  he  was  once  more  in  Paris,  and  in  a 
position  to  make  his  own  observations  upon  the  situa- 
tion. The  effects  of  Charles'  ill  success  in  Scotland  had 
been  quickly  apparent  in  the  diminished  consideration 
shown    to    his   adherents   by  foreign   courts  ;  and    Hyde 


430  HENRIETTA    MARIA 

had  become  eager  to  be  recalled  from  Madrid.  He 
wanted,  he  told  Nicholas,  to  find  some  quiet  place, 
not  crowded  by  English,  who,  with  their  uncharitable 
humours  towards  each  other,  made  themselves  ridiculous 
and  contemptible  to  strangers.  Of  Paris  he  declared, 
in  particular,  in  a  subsequent  letter  that  "  that  cursed 
place  and  company  makes  all  people  mad."  Nevertheless, 
he  had  arrived  at  that  city,  and  was  there  detained  by 
the  gout. 

He  had  found  the  position  of  the  Queen  sensibly 
affected  by  the  Royalist  misfortunes  ;  and  one  alteration 
in  especial  had  taken  place  at  the  Louvre,  which,  causing 
much  disturbance  amongst  the  inmates  of  the  palace,  was 
cited  by  Hyde  as  proof  of  the  disrespect  engendered  by 
the  King's  reverses.  It  would  nevertheless  appear  that 
another  cause  had  had  a  share  in  contributing  to  it. 

Not  long  before,  a  figure  of  no  great  prominence  or 
note  had  slipped  off  the  stage.  This  was  Father  Philip, 
for  many  years  confessor  to  the  Queen.  Described  by 
Carte  as  a  quiet,  pious,  prudent  and  inoffensive  man,  he 
had  pursued  his  way  in  tranquillity  and  peace.  With  his 
death  a  change  was  noticeable.  Walter  Montagu,  some- 
time playwright  at  Whitehall  and  now  a  new-made 
priest  and  Abbot  of  Pontoise,  was  to  fill  the  vacant  post, 
and  to  give  rise  to  many  regrets  at  the  removal  of  the 
gentle  old  priest.  Whether  or  not  he  had  as  yet  formally 
assumed  the  spiritual  guidance  of  the  Queen,  she 
suspected  him  of  having  a  hand  in  an  order  of  Anne  of 
Austria,  directed  towards  interference  with  the  exercise  of 
their  religion  on  the  part  of  the  Protestant  members 
of  Henrietta's  household. 

A  room  had  hitherto  been  set  apart  at  the  Louvre, 
where  Dr.  Cosins,  afterwards  Bishop  of  Durham,  ministered 
to    those    of  his  persuasion,    and    kept   up    "  a   constant 


By  permission  of  the   Bishop  of  Durham. 
JOHN   COSIN,    BISHOP   OF    DURHAM. 


RELIGIOUS    INTOLERANCE    AT   PARIS     431 

preachment  of  railing  against  the  roundheads,  just  as  the 
Capuchins  do  against  the  Protestants.1  "  But  on  the 
departure  of  Charles  and  his  brother,  the  Regent  had 
issued  a  prohibition  against  any  public  exercise  of 
Protestant  worship  at  the  palace,  adding  that  it  would 
no  longer  be  permitted  in  any  royal  residence.  The 
Chancellor,  on  his  arrival,  was  desired  by  the  injured 
household  to  represent  their  grievance  to  the  Queen,  in 
virtue  of  a  promise  he  had  personally  received  from 
her  that  the  chaplain  should  continue  to  exercise  his 
office  and  receive  his  salary. 

Henrietta  took  the  protest  in  good  part.  She  had 
herself,  she  declared,  been  troubled  and  surprised  at 
the  Regent's  command.  But  she  was  powerless  in  the 
matter.  Her  sister-in-law  had  gone  so  far  as  to  take 
her  to  task  for  want  of  zeal  in  the  matter  of  religion, 
or  care  for  her  children's  conversion.  She  desired  that 
Hyde  would  confer  with  Mr.  Montagu  on  the  subject, 
giving  the  Chancellor  to  understand  that  he  and  his 
bigotry  were  to  blame  for  what  had  occurred.  She  also 
expressed  her  regret  for  the  death  of  Father  Philip,  who 
had  never  suffered  her  to  be  pressed  to  any  "  passionate 
undertakings,"  and  had  desired  that  she  should  live  well 
with  Protestants.  She  added  that,  though  unable  to 
assign  a  room  at  the  palace  for  purposes  of  worship, 
she  would  see  that  her  household  had  the  opportunity 
of  exercising  their  religion  elsewhere,  and  would  continue 
to  Dr.  Cosins  the  payment  of  his  salary.2 

Thus  matters  stood  when  Hyde  left  Paris,    charged 
with    a    letter    from  the   Queen   to   the  Duke  of  York, 

1   Vemey  Papers. 

'  This  account  of  the  affair  is  distinctly  at  variance  with  the 
statement  which  has  been  made  that  all  servants  of  the  Queen  who 
declined  to  join  the  Catholic  Church  were  to  be  at  this  time  dismissed. 


432  HENRIETTA    MARIA 

now  at  Breda,  containing  the  long-desired  summons 
to  Paris.  The  boy  was  eager  to  respond  to  it.  Money 
was  scarce,  his  household  discontented  and  quarrelsome  ; 
and  though  he  proved  impenitent  and  determined  not 
to  own  himself  in  the  wrong,  the  invitation  to  Paris  was 
"  a  very  seasonable  redemption,"  and  he  set  out  the 
next  day.  He  had  desired  that  Nicholas  should  attend 
him,  but  the  suggestion  being  unendorsed  by  the  Queen, 
and  the  Secretary  having  good  reason  to  believe  he 
would  be  an  unwelcome  guest,  he  prudently  remained 
behind. 

On  his  arrival  in  Paris  the  Duke  was  received 
with  greater  indulgence  by  the  Queen  than  his  conduct 
had  merited.  She  may  have  been  learning  wisdom  in  the 
treatment  of  her  sons  ;  and  with  the  eldest  seeking  his 
fortune  in  perilous  paths,  and  the  third  still  in  the 
hands  of  the  enemy,  she  may  have  been  anxious  not 
to  alienate  by  overmuch  severity  the  only  one  within 
reach.  Sir  George  Radcliffe,  too,  who,  as  a  prime 
instigator  of  the  Duke's  insubordination,  had  fallen 
under  the  Queen's  displeasure,  was,  at  Ormond's  in- 
stance, admitted  to  an  interview  with  her  and  received 
back  into  favour,  the  peacemaker  being  present,  but 
busying  himself  with  looking  at  pictures  whilst  the 
reconciliation  took  place.  On  one  point  Ormond 
probably  differed  with  the  Queen.  It  was  his  opinion 
that  the  Duke  should  either  make  fresh  representations 
to  Anne  of  Austria  as  to  a  place  of  worship  in  the 
Louvre  itself,  or  should  go  "  more  frequently  and 
solemnly  "  to  Sir  Richard  Browne's  chapel. 

Meantime,  there  was  nothing  in  the  news  from  England 
or  Scotland  to  afford  satisfaction  to  the  exiles.  The  King 
had  felt  little  personal  regret  for  the  defeat  of  Dunbar. 
His  position  in  Scotland  had,  before  that  event,  come  near 


THE    KING    IN   SCOTLAND  433 

to  being  intolerable.  He  had  bowed  his  neck  to  the 
yoke  ;  had  set  his  name  to  a  declaration  of  which  he 
himself  said  that,  signing  it,  he  could  never  again  look 
his  mother  in  the  face.  But  his  concessions  had  won 
him  no  more  than  a  bare  toleration.  By  the  Scotch 
defeat  he  had  been  in  a  measure  emancipated  ;  but  the 
conditions  of  his  coronation  were  sufficiently  humiliating. 
He  had  been  compelled  to  repent,  so  to  speak,  to  order, 
not  only  of  his  own  transgressions,  but  of  those  of  his 
father  and  grandfather,  till  he  was  reported  to  have 
observed  that  he  thought  he  must  also  repent  that 
ever  he  had  been  born.  Yet  he  played  his  sorry  part 
well,  and  subscribing  to  both  Covenants,  so  acted  the 
farce  that  the  ministers  present  were  impressed  with 
his  serious  and  devout  bearing.  But  all  was  in  vain. 
By  September  the  present  phase  of  the  struggle  had 
been  decided  at  Worcester,  and  he  was  once  more  a 
fugitive  from  the  kingdom  he  had  failed  to  win  back. 


CHAPTER    XXI 
1651— 1653 

Charles'  return  to  Paris — A  gay  winter— Hyde,  Nicholas,  and  the  Queen 
— Jealousy  of  her  influence — Duke  of  York  joins  the  French  army — 
Charles  and  Mademoiselle — The  Fronde — Charles'  life  in  Paris — 
Henrietta's  intervention  between  court  and  Fronde — Hostility  of 
the  populace — Withdrawal  to  Saint-Germain — Removal  to  the  Palais 
Royal — Quarrels  between  Henrietta  and  Hyde — France  and  England 
■ — Release  of  the  Duke  of  Gloucester — Charles'  defence  of  Hyde. 

THE  story  of  Charles'  adventurous  escape  after 
the  battle  of  Worcester  has  been  too  often  related 
to  require  re-telling  here.  It  was  six  weeks  before  he 
was  in  France  and  in  safety — an  interval  of  intense 
anxiety  at  the  Louvre.  On  October  16th  he  landed 
at  Fecamp.  By  the  19th  he  was  in  Paris,  and  Made- 
moiselle has  given  a  detailed  account  of  the  impression 
he  produced  there. 

On  the  day  following  his  arrival  she  repaired  to 
the  Louvre,  to  pay  a  visit  of  congratulation.  Proceed- 
ing at  once  to  prepare  her  guest  for  the  alteration 
in  her  son's  appearance,  Henrietta  informed  her  that 
she  would  find  him  very  ridiculous.  He  had  had  to 
cut  his  hair,  and  was  singularly  dressed.  Mademoiselle 
took  a  different  view.  In  spite  of  his  short  hair 
and  his  beard  Charles,  upon  his  entrance,  seemed  to 
her  greatly  improved  in  looks.  He  also  spoke  French 
better,  and  she  listened  with  interest  to  his  account 
of  his    adventures.     When    his    cousin    took    leave    he 

434 


A   WINTER   AT    PARIS  435 

escorted  her  to  the  Tuileries,  talking  all  the  way  of  his 
miserable  life  in  Scotland,  where  he  had  been  so 
furieusement  ennuye  that  he  had  the  less  regretted  defeat 
since  it  offered  a  hope  of  his  return  to  France — a  land 
possessing  so  many  attractions  and  containing  those 
to  whom  he  was  so  deeply  attached. 

The  visit  was  a  promising  beginning  to  a  winter 
of  constant  intercourse.  The  French  court  had  left 
Paris,  and  all  who  were  gay  or  young  were  to  be 
found  at  Mademoiselle's  little  dances.  Charles  was 
a  constant  guest,  his  mother  not  seldom  present  ;  and 
other,  less  formal,  meetings  took  place,  as  when  on 
a  certain  evening  Henrietta  and  her  two  sons  took 
Mademoiselle  by  surprise  and  came  unbidden  to  supper, 
their  hostess's  only  regret  being  that  the  fare  was  not 
more  worthy  of  the  occasion. 

There  were  lookers-on  with  little  liking  for  the 
match  that  Henrietta  was  eager  to  promote  ;  and  chief 
amongst  them  was  Hyde. 

The  Chancellor  had  been  at  Antwerp  when  news 
reached  him  of  the  King's  escape,  accompanied  by  a 
summons  to  Paris.  Before  obeying  it,  he  addressed  a 
letter  of  mingled  congratulation  and  admonition  to  his 
young  master.  God  had  instructed  him  by  means  of 
the  dangers  he  had  run  in  knowledge  not  otherwise  to 
be  attained.  His  own  fate  and  his  kingdom's  now 
depended  on  his  virtue.  Not  long  after  this  letter  was 
penned,  satisfactory  reports  of  Charles'  amendment  had 
reached  the  writer,  and  he  was  sure  that,  if  true,  all 
would  have  comfort  in  serving  the  young  King.  If  it 
were  not  so,  he  was  not  yet  ripe  for  deliverance.  This 
monitor's  misgivings,  it  is  clear,  had  not  been  wholly 
removed. 

Nicholas,  also  bidden  to  Paris,  had,  as  before,  reasons 
vol.   11.  9 


436  HENRIETTA    MARIA 

for  preferring  to  remain  at  a  distance  from  the  exiled 
court.  It  has  been  seen  that  he  occupied  the  position 
of  confidant  to  those  who  made  it  a  condition  that  what 
they  told  him  should  not  be  communicated  to  the  Queen. 
Her  displeasure  at  his  silence  was  th~  more  difficult  to 
remove,  seeing  that  he  could  not  engage  that  the  offence 
should  not  be  repeated  ;  and  upon  the  score  of  his 
inability  either  to  express  penitence  or  promise  amend- 
ment, he  declined  an  offer  of  mediation  from  Ormond. 

When  Hyde  arrived  in  Paris,  he  found  to  his  comfort 
not  only  that  Ormond,  "  noble  and  excellent  as  ever," 
had  already  made  his  way  thither,  but  that  the  young 
King's  state  of  mind  was  much  to  his  liking.  He  was, 
he  reported  to  Nicholas,  as  firm  in  the  matter  of  religion 
as  his  blessed  father  ;  and  with  regard  to  the  Secretary 
himself,  when  Nicholas'  sense  of  the  Queen's  displeasure 
had  been  broached,  he  had  "  answered  at  large,  hand- 
somely, kindly,  passionately,"  and  had  said  that  his 
mother  was  in  the  wrong,  and  that,  were  Nicholas  in 
Paris,  he  would  compose  all. 

Whether  Charles  had  not  over-estimated  his  own 
powers  of  conciliation  may  be  doubted.  When  Hyde 
himself,  always  anxious  that  his  old  and  tried  friend 
should  be  at  hand,  had  a  conference  with  Henrietta  on 
the  same  subject  in  the  following  February,  the  result 
was  not  encouraging.  The  Queen  made  the  unanswer- 
able complaint  that  the  Secretary  did  not  love  her  ;  and 
when  Ormond  and  Hyde,  apparently  evading  a  direct 
reply,  expressed  their  confidence  that  she  could  not 
but  have  a  good  opinion  of  him,  and  that  on  matters  of 
importance  she  herself  would  sooner  trust  him  than  those 
by  whom  he  was  maligned,  she  laughed  and  said  "  indeed 
he  was  very  honest,"  but  repeated  again  that  he  loved 
her  not.     As  this  was  another  respect  in  which  Nicholas 


CHARLES'    POSITION    IN    PARIS         437 

would  not  have  found  amendment  easy,  he  was  doubtless 
wise  in  electing  to  continue  at  a  distance  from  the 
Louvre. 

Whilst  Charles  was  in  the  satisfactory  frame  of 
mind  described  by  Hyde,  his  position  left  much  to 
be  desired.  The  pleasure  of  reunion  had  been  accom- 
panied by  financial  complications.  Henrietta's  income 
was  barely  sufficient  to  provide  for  her  own  necessities, 
and  when  the  penniless  condition  of  the  fugitive  King 
forced  the  French  court  to  bestow  upon  him  an  allowance 
of  6000  livres  a  year,  it  was  arranged  that,  the  Queen 
remaining  responsible  for  the  support  of  her  little  daughter, 
the  Duke  of  York  should  board  at  his  brother's  expense. 
Everybody  alike  was  poor,  Ormond  having  had  to  put 
himself  en  pension  at  a  pistole  a  week,  and  Jermyn  alone 
having  money  at  his  command. 

Jermyn  had  been  making  himself  busy  at  this  time 
after  a  fashion  specially  distasteful  to  others  of  the  King's 
counsellors.  An  indifferentist  on  matters  of  religion,  he 
was  anxious  that  Charles  should  propitiate  Presbyterian 
opinion  by  assisting  at  the  Huguenot  services  held  at 
Charenton.  To  this  policy  Henrietta  gave  her  counten- 
ance, either,  as  the  Chancellor  suggests,  as  a  means  of 
disgusting  her  son  with  Protestantism  in  general,  or  from 
other  motives.  The  plan  was  not  carried  into  effect.  By 
Hyde's  advice,  seconded,  one  may  believe,  by  personal 
disinclination,  Charles  resisted  Jermyn's  arguments  ;  and 
the  only  result  of  the  affair  was  an  increased  dislike  on 
the  part  of  the  Queen  for  the  man  whose  counsels  had 
been  followed  in  preference  to   her  own. 

Notwithstanding  his  disregard  of  her  wishes  on  this 
occasion,  there  was  a  prevailing  impression  abroad  that 
Charles  had  fallen  under  his  mother's  influence.  So  strong 
was    this    conviction    that    Nicholas    reported    from    the 


43 8  HENRIETTA    MARIA 

Haguet  hat,  in  consequence  of  it,  numerous  Royalists 
were  returning  to  England,  "  as  having  little  hopes 
left  them,  seeing  they  hear  his  Majesty  intends  to 
make  use  of  the  Louvre  counsels."  At  Paris  it  would 
appear  that  the  same  suspicions  were  entertained.  "  It 
seems  by  what  you  say,"  wrote  Nicholas — always  ready 
to  believe  the  worst — to  Lord  Hatton.  "  that  the  King's 
secret  council  are  the  Queen,  Lord  Jermyn,  and  Wat 
Montagu  ;  for  that  of  greatest  business  he  consults  with 
them  only,  without  the  knowledge  of  the  Marquis  of 
Ormond,  or  Sir  Edward  Hyde." 

Hyde,  in  a  better  position  to  form  a  judgment,  was 
explicit  in  his  denial  of  any  subjection  on  the  part  of 
the  King  to  his  mother.  "  Neither  Lord  Jermyn  nor 
the  Queen  herself,"  he  wrote  to  the  Secretary,  "are  like 
to  govern  more  than  they  should,  and  I  trust  they  begin 
to  believe  so  themselves."  And  again  :  "  The  King  hath 
not,  nor  will,  resign  himself  or  his  affairs  to  the  Queen, 
nor  is  Lord  Jermyn  an  image  that  anybody  worships." 

Charles  was  soon  to  corroborate  the  Chancellor's 
assertion,  and  to  give  proof  that  he  had  no  intention  of 
allowing  himself  to  be  guided  by  his  mother.  About  this 
time  envoys  arrived  from  Scotland,  charged  with  proffers 
of  service  from  a  section  of  the  Royalist  party  there  ; 
but  making  it  a  condition  that  nothing  connected  with 
their  schemes  and  projects  should  be  made  known  either 
to  Buckingham,  Jermyn,  or  Wilmot.  The  conviction, 
whether  well  grounded  or  not,  was  still  wide-spread  that 
secrets  at  the  Louvre  were  badly  kept,  and  that  plans 
there  discussed  were  apt  to  become  known  at  Westminster. 
With  reference  to  Scottish  affairs,  in  particular,  it  was 
said  that  the  Queen  thought  too  well  of  Argyle,  and 
that  what  she  knew  would  infallibly  reach  his  ears.  In 
accordance  with  the  demands  of  the  envoys,  it  was,  there- 


DISSENSIONS   IN   PARIS  439 

fore,  agreed  that  Ormond,  Hyde,  and  Newburgh  should 
alone  be  consulted  in  the  matter. 

No  doubt  the  arrangement  was  wise.  Yet  one, 
at  least,  of  the  chosen  counsellors  would  willingly  have 
foregone  a  mark  of  confidence  certain  to  bring  him  into 
fresh  collision  with  the  King's  mother.  But  it  was  vain 
for  the  Chancellor  to  protest.  The  King,  though 
listening  to  his  arguments,  was  firm,  and  no  alternative 
remained  to  Hyde  but  to  submit,  his  forebodings  of 
increased  displeasure  on  Henrietta's  part  rinding  speedy 
realisation. 

If  the  Queen  disliked  the  chosen  counsellors  of  her 
eldest  son,  she  was  also,  with  more  reason,  hostile  to  the 
friends  and  advisers  of  the  Duke  of  York,  and  notwith- 
standing the  reconciliation  effected  by  Ormond  between 
her  and  Sir  George  Radcliffe,  the  chief  offender  in  the 
matter  of  the  Duke's  proceedings  of  the  previous  year, 
the  pacification  between  his  mother  and  his  advisers  was 
not  likely  to  prove  lasting.  The  lad's  household,  too,  was 
full  of  disorder  and  dissension,  and  although  opposed  to 
the  plan  at  first,  Henrietta  was  probably  less  averse  than 
she  might  otherwise  have  been  to  the  accomplishment 
of  the  desire  now  shown  by  James  to  study  the  art  of 
warfare  in  the  French  camp. 

The  step  was,  of  course,  not  to  be  taken  lightly  by 
the  heir-presumptive  to  the  throne,  and  the  matter 
was  referred  to  the  Council  of  State,  now  consisting  of 
Hyde,  Ormond,  Jermyn  and  Wilmot.  Upon  this  body 
Charles  called  to  determine  whether  his  brother  should 
be  perrrrtted  to  carry  out  his  wishes.  A  meeting  took 
place,  Henrietta  being  present  but  taking  no  part  in  the 
discussion  ;  and  upon  the  Chancellor  being  bidden  to 
speak,  he  gave  his  voice,  though  with  reluctance,  in 
favour  of  acquiescence  in  the  Duke's  desire.     Whilst  it 


440  HENRIETTA   MARIA 

was  impossible  to  advise  such  a  step,  he  was  of  opinion 
that  the  King  should  not  forbid  it,  and  the  lad  was 
accordingly  sent  to  serve  his  military  apprenticeship 
under  Turenne. 

It  would  have  been  well  if  the  King  himself  had 
shared  his  brother's  ambition  ;  but  he  was  to  remain 
behind  in  Paris  and  to  undergo  that  training  in  a  life 
of  pleasure  the  effect  of  which  was  so  marked  in  later 
days.  His  dilettante  courtship  of  his  cousin  was  still 
proceeding,  and  presently  entered  upon  a  more  definite 
phase.  Henrietta  one  day  spoke  plainly  to  her  niece. 
The  terms,  she  told  her,  upon  which  she  and  her  son 
stood  with  Mademoiselle  precluded  an  application  to 
her  father  until  they  should  have  ascertained  her  own 
wishes.  After  this  explanation,  she  made  an  explicit 
proposal  on  Charles'  behalf.  Mademoiselle  returned 
an  ambiguous  reply,  requesting  time  for  consideration. 
This  Henrietta  granted,  adding  that,  should  the  marriage 
take  place,  her  niece  would  remain  mistress  of  her 
own  fortune  ;  that  she  would  be,  moreover,  a  queen, 
and  the  happiest  woman  in  the  world,  owing  to  the 
tenderness  and  attachment  of  her  husband. 

The  heiress  appears  to  have  been  at  this  time  in  a 
genuine  state  of  indecision.  "  The  King  of  England 
often  said  to  me,  '  The  Queen  is  impatient  to  see  you.' 
And  for  my  part  I  was  in  no  haste  to  give  him  an 
answer."  At  length  Henrietta  brought  matters  to  a 
point.  Visiting  her  niece,  she  told  her  that  she  was 
aware  of  her  hopes  of  becoming  Queen  of  France — an 
ambition  cherished  at  this  time  by  Mademoiselle,  not- 
withstanding the  youth  of  the  King — and  that  she  and 
her  son  had  no  desire  to  stand  in  the  way  of  this  more 
advantageous  match.  What  they  asked  was  that,  should 
it  fall  through,  she  would  bestow  her  hand  upon  Charles. 


CHARLES   AND    MADEMOISELLE       441 

Mademoiselle  having  discreetly  referred  the  Queen 
to  her  father,  the  Duke's  reply  was  couched  in  terms  so 
vague  that  Charles,  inspirited  by  his  mother's  report,  felt 
encouraged  to  plead  his  cause  in  person.  A  curious 
dialogue  ensued,  when  Mademoiselle  pointed  out  the 
necessity  of  her  suitor's  presence  in  England  if  his 
dominion  were  to  be  regained.  Charles  waxed  reproach- 
ful. Would  she  have  him  leave  her,  he  asked,  as  soon 
as  they  were  wedded.  His  inexorable  cousin  answered  in 
the  affirmative.  Should  that  come  to  pass  she  would 
share  his  interests  more  than  before,  and  would,  with 
sorrow,  see  him  dancing  the  triolet  and  amusing  himself 
when  he  ought  to  be  where  he  would  either  have  his 
head  broken  or  would  place  a  crown  upon  it.  He  would 
not  be  worthy,  added  his  monitress,  to  wear  a  crown,  did 
he  not  go  to  seek  it  at  the  peril  of  his  life  and  the  point 
of  his  sword. 

The  ardour  of  Charles'  suit  may  possibly  have  been 
cooled  by  the  frank  expression  of  Mademoiselle's  views. 
On  the  other  hand,  advisers  were  not  wanting  to  warn 
her  of  the  injury  her  matrimonial  chances  would  suffer 
by  constant  intercourse  with  her  detrimental  cousin  ; 
and  she  expressed  in  consequence,  through  Jermyn,  her 
desire  that  he  should  make  his  visits  less  frequent.  A 
coolness  ensued,  and  on  her  next  appearance  at  the 
Louvre,  a  great  chair  was  produced  in  which  Charles 
ostentatiously  placed  himself,  instead  of  occupying  his 
customary  humbler  seat. 

Affairs  had  reached  this  point  when,  according  to 
Mademoiselle,  "  a  much  greater  event  "  distracted  her 
thoughts  from  her  relations  with  the  exiled  court. 

Into  the  history  of  the  Fronde,  with  its  succes- 
sive phases  and  its  different  sections  at  war  with  one 
another,  the  factions  of  de  Retz,  the  Condes,  and  the  Due 


442  HENRIETTA   MARIA 

d'Orleans,  their  struggles  and  their  coalitions,  it  has  been 
out  of  the  question  to  enter.  Nor  is  it  possible  to 
follow  Mademoiselle  when,  in  March,  1652,  she  left 
Paris,  to  play  the  part  of  the  amazon  ;  displayed  herself 
on  horseback  to  the  insurgent  troops  ;  forced  her  way 
into  Orleans  and  shut  its  gates  upon  the  royal  army  ; 
returning  to  perform  fresh  exploits  in  the  capital  itself. 

The  English  refugees  had  necessarily  occupied  the 
position  of  spectators  of  the  stormy  scenes  around  them, 
"  not  knowing  whither  to  go,  nor  well  able  to  stay  ': 
where  they  were,  owing  to  the  non-payment  of  their 
pensions.  Paris  must,  at  this  time  of  tumult,  have 
been  an  undesirable  place  of  residence.  Henrietta  was 
on  terms  of  affection  with  her  brother,  and,  outwardly 
at  least,  with  the  Condes,  the  popular  leaders  ;  but  her 
connection  with  the  court  naturally  rendered  her  liable 
to  suspicion,  accentuated  by  the  presence  of  her  second 
son  in  the  royal  army.  "  Every  one  knows,"  wrote 
Conde's  agent  in  London  to  the  English  Council,  "  that 
all  the  ministers,  as  well  of  the  pretended  King  as  of 
the  Queen  his  mother,  are  wholly  devoted  to  the  Cardinal 
and  wholly  made  his  creatures."  The  same  writer  also 
disclaimed  any  connection  between  Charles  and  Conde, 
adding  that  "  things  were  as  ill  between  them  as  could 
be."  Under  these  circumstances,  residence  in  a  city 
ruled  by  the  Prince  and  his  friends  must  have  been  far  from 
agreeable  ;  and  though  Mademoiselle,  on  her  return  from 
Orleans,  received  a  visit  from  the  King,  it  was  evident 
to  his  cousin  that  his  sympathies  were  not  enlisted  on  the 
side  of  the  party  to  which  she  belonged.  Henrietta,  for 
her  part,  referring  to  her  niece's  triumph  at  Orleans, 
observed  sardonically  that  she  had  followed  in  the  steps 
of  Joan  of  Arc,  beginning,  like  her,  by  driving  away  the 
English — an  ironical  allusion  to  the  quasi  dismissal   that 


DUKE  OF  YORK'S  MARRIAGE   MOOTED     443 

Charles  had  received  at  her  hands.  Opinions  and  views 
being  so  opposite,  Mademoiselle  wisely  diminished  the 
number  of  her  visits  to  the  Louvre,  "  taking  no  pleasure," 
she  herself  observes,  "  in  disputing  with  those  to  whom 
respect  was  due." 

It  must  have  been  plain  to  Henrietta  that  her  son's 
suit  was  not  likely  to  prosper  so  long  as  his  fortunes 
showed  no  signs  of  amendment.  A  match  which  had 
been  in  contemplation  for  the  Duke  of  York  was  like- 
wise abandoned  about  this  time.  It  had  been  suggested 
before  he  left  Paris  that  Mademoiselle  de  Longueville, 
stepdaughter  to  the  Prince  de  Conde's  sister  and  an 
heiress  in  her  own  right,  might  prove  a  suitable  bride. 
Though  she  possessed  few  outward  attractions,  James 
had  shown  himself  not  unwilling  to  entertain  the  plan, 
and  had  visited  her  frequently.  Hyde,  however,  was 
strongly  opposed  to  the  marriage.  When  asked  his 
opinion  by  Henrietta,  he  pointed  out  the  impropriety 
of  the  heir  to  the  throne  being  wedded  before  the 
sovereign,  <c  or  that  it  should  be  in  any  woman's  power 
to  say  that,  if  there  were  but  one  person  dead,  she 
would  be  a  queen."  Henrietta  for  once  was  convinced 
by  the  Chancellor's  reasoning.  "  Loving  the  King  with 
all  possible  tenderness,  she  said,  with  some  warmth, 
that  she  would  never  give  her  consent  that  it  should 
be  so,"  and  the  project  had  almost  as  rapid  an  ending 
as  a  more  presumptuous  scheme  mentioned  in  a  letter 
from  Hyde  to  Nicholas.  The  King,  said  the  Chancellor, 
abhorred  the  wild  pretence  of  the  Duke  of  Buckingham 
to  marry  the  Princess  of  Orange  ;  and  as  for  the  Queen, 
she  said  that  were  it  possible  for  her  daughter  to  indulge 
so  base  a  thought,  she  would  tear  her  in  pieces  with 
her  own  hands. 

Hyde    was    presently    to    find    the    strong  objection 


444  HENRIETTA   MARIA 

felt  by  Henrietta  to  mesalliances  on  the  part  of  her 
children  of  more  personal  inconvenience  than  in  this 
instance.  For  the  present  she  must  have  been  weary  of 
marriage  projects,  and  there  was  sufficient  gravity  in 
the  condition  of  French  affairs  to  take  precedence  for 
the  moment  of  matters  of  less  pressing  interest. 

Henrietta  had  not  been  content  to  be  a  passive 
spectator  of  the  internal  dissensions  of  France  ;  and  in 
May  she  wrote  to  her  sister  from  Chaillot  that  she 
and  her  son  had  been  engaged,  though  with  little  hope 
of  success,  in  an  endeavour  to  restore  peace  between 
the  belligerents.  In  the  meantime  the  state  of  the  country 
was  such  that  it  was  scarcely  possible  to  go  outside 
the  gates  of  Paris  without  danger,  whether  from  soldiers 
or  robbers  or  from  the  peasantry  who,  reduced  to 
desperation,  had  fled  to  the  forests  and  attacked  unwary 
wayfarers.  As  for  Henrietta  herself,  "You  may  judge," 
she  wrote,  "  of  my  condition  when  I  see  myself  on 
the  eve  of  dying  of  hunger,  and  know  not  so  much 
as  where  to  seek  safety.  It  is  true  that,  after  my 
misfortunes,  I  should  fear  nothing,  nor  should  death 
make  me  afraid  ;  but  the  manner  of  it  is  to  be  dreaded, 
not  coming  at  the  time  one  would  choose."  She  added 
that,  though  she  was  at  Chaillot  at  the  time  or  writing, 
it  was  not  probable  that  either  she  or  the  nuns  would 
remain  there  long,  since  she  would  be  forced  to  return 
to  Paris  by  the  soldiers,  who  showed  no  respect  of 
persons. 

The  Queen's  letter  was  written  on  May  8th.  By 
the  nth  the  King  had  come  to  fetch  her  back  to  the 
Louvre,  upon  an  alarm  that  the  royal  troops  were 
marching  upon  Paris.  In  June  public  feeling  was 
further  excited  against  the  English  colony  by  the  fact 
that  Charles  had  been  unseasonably  requested  to  act  as 


THE   FRONDE  445 

intermediary  between  the  French  court  and  the  Duke 
of  Lorraine,  and  hostility  towards  him  and  his  mother 
ran  so  high  that  they  were  forced  to  remain  shut  up 
in  the  palace.  They  had  done  their  best  to  ruin 
England,  it  was  said,  and  were  now  attempting  to  do 
the  same  by  France.  Gaston  d'Orleans  was  indignant 
that  his  sister  should  have  ranged  herself  upon  the 
opposite  side  to  that  he  had  adopted  ;  whilst  Conde 
conceived  that  he  and  his  family  had  merited  better 
treatment  at  her  hands.  If  gratitude  to  the  court  would 
have  prohibited  her  from  taking  part  against  it,  she 
might,  it  was  thought,   have  remained  neutral. 

By  July  the  situation  had  become  intolerable.  Charles 
had  been  practically  a  prisoner  in  the  Louvre  for  three 
weeks.  The  attitude  of  the  Parisian  mob  was  threaten- 
ing ;  the  leaders  of  the  Fronde  held  aloof ;  and  in 
the  end  the  French  court,  at  the  moment  at  Pontoise, 
provided  for  the  safety  of  its  guests  by  offering  them 
an  asylum  at  Saint-Germain.  At  the  end  of  the  first 
week  in  July  it  had  been  determined  to  leave  Paris  in 
two  days  ;  but  the  journey  was  deferred,  and  when  a 
day  and  hour  had  been  actually  settled  upon,  it  was 
found  that  the  passes  were  defective,  the  guards  in- 
sufficient, and  at  eleven  o'clock  the  night  before  the  move 
was  to  have  been  made,  a  message  was  brought  from 
Mademoiselle  to  advise  a  further  postponement,  on  the 
score  that  the  populace  was  in  disorder  and  the  journey 
would  be  unsafe. 

When  at  length  the  departure  of  the  Queen  and  her 
son  took  place,  one  evening  towards  the  middle  of  July, 
a  guard  was  supplied  by  the  popular  leaders  as  far  as 
the  gates  of  the  city,  where  Gaston  d'Orleans  and 
Conde  took  leave  of  the  travellers  with  courteous  if 
derfunctory  expressions  of  affection.      Once    beyond  the 


446  HENRIETTA    MARIA 

walls,  they  were  met  by  a  troop  of  the  royal  horse,  who 
conducted  them  by  torch-light  to  Saint-Germain,  where 
they  arrived,  in  rain  and  darkness,  at  midnight,  remaining 
there  till  King  Louis  re-entered  Paris  in  October. 

No  doubt  Anne  of  Austria  did  her  best  for  her 
involuntary  guests  ;  but  the  French  court  itself  was  in 
no  condition  of  plenty,  and  the  Chancellor  was  not  without 
fears  that  his  master  might  lack  bread.  France,  however, 
was  weary  of  the  struggle.  By  the  autumn  Mazarin  had 
made,  for  the  second  time,  a  feint  of  retiring  from  the 
country  and  from  office,  and  the  Fronde  was  at  an  end. 
When  King  Louis  made  his  entrance  into  his  rebellious 
capital  on  the  night  of  October  21st,  Charles  assisted 
at  the  ceremony.  His  mother  had  arrived  in  Paris  some 
little  time  earlier,  a  reconciliation  having  taken  place 
between  herself  and  her  brother,  of  which  the  Duke's 
daughter  claimed  the  merit.  For  the  present  it  can  have 
made  little  practical  difference  to  Henrietta.  Orleans 
had  fled  from  the  city  on  the  day  preceding  his  nephew's 
return,  and  Mademoiselle  was  to  atone  for  her  adven- 
turous experiences  by  ejectment  from  her  quarters  at 
the  Tuileries,  and  a  six  years'  banishment  from  court 
and  from  Paris. 

It  was  at  this  time  that  Henrietta's  removal  from 
the  Louvre  to  the  Palais  Royal  took  place.  It  had  been 
determined  that  King  Louis  should  take  up  his  residence 
for  the  future  at  the  first,  as  offering  greater  security 
for  his  person  than  the  Palais,  where  hitherto  the  French 
court  had  been  held.  Henrietta  and  her  household  were 
therefore  obliged  to  make  way,  being  assigned  apart- 
ments in  the  Palais  Royal,  which  she  continued  to  inhabit 
with  her  son,  so  long  as  he  remained  in  Paris.  So 
far  as  Henrietta  was  concerned  it  was  a  quiet  life 
that  she  there  led.     "  The  illustrious  Queen  of  England, 


CHARLES'   DETERIORATION  447 

who  rarely  goes  abroad  save  to  visit  convents,"  is  a 
phrase  occurring  in  Loret's  versified  account  of  a  visit 
paid  by  Henrietta  to  the  Carmelites  during  the  following 
year.  With  Charles  it  was  a  different  matter,  and  there 
must  have  been  many  Royalists  who  anxiously  desired 
that  the  period  of  his  sojourning  in  the  French  capital 
should  be  curtailed.  To  the  men  who  had  been  his 
father's  faithful  servants,  the  life  led  by  the  titular  King 
in  his  place  of  banishment  must  have  caused  scarcely 
less  regret  than  the  state  of  his  fortunes  ;  and  in  the 
letters  addressed  by  Hyde  to  Nicholas,  the  helpless  bitter- 
ness with  which  he  looked  on  is  apparent.  Reports  had 
reached  the  Secretary  of  the  contempt  felt  for  the 
Council.  The  Chancellor  confessed  that  they  were  too 
well  founded.  Not  only  the  softness  of  the  King,  but 
the  corruption  and  licence  of  the  court  were  responsible 
for  the  condition  of  things.  So  long  as  Charles  remained 
with  his  mother,  all  the  counsels  of  the  world  could  not 
reform  him. 

Hyde's  account  of  the  matter  may  have  been  coloured 
by  personal  antagonism.  Charles  was  rapidly  losing, 
in  the  enervating  atmosphere  around  him,  the  energy 
and  vigour  he  had  displayed  at  an  earlier  date  ;  and 
Henrietta,  to  say  the  least,  did  not  throw  the  weight 
of  her  influence  into  the  scales  in  support  of  his  best 
and  wisest  counsellors.  But  evidence  enough  has  been 
furnished  of  the  bitter  animosity  of  which  she  was 
the  object  to  serve  in  some  sort  as  an  excuse  for  her 
own.  A .  less  prejudiced  woman  would  have  found  it 
hard  to  act  dispassionately  towards  critics  so  hostile, 
and  so  jealous  of  any  favour  bestowed  upon  her  friends. 
"  Oh,  Mr.  Secretary,"  cried  the  Chancellor,  "  this  last 
act  of  the  King's  in  making  Mr.  Crofts  a  gentleman 
of  the  bedchamber,  so   contrary  to  what  he  assured  me, 


448  HENRIETTA    MARIA 

makes  me  mad  and  weary  of  my  life  !  "  Nor  can  it  be 
doubted  that,  had  the  promotion  of  a  partisan  of  Hyde's 
been  in  question,  Henrietta's  protest  would  have  been 
as  violent. 

Other  influences  besides  his  mother's  were  at  work 
to  counteract  the  effect  upon  the  King  of  men  like 
Ormond  and  Hyde.  That  of  Wilmot,  to  be  raised  to 
the  earldom  of  Rochester,  was  on  the  increase,  and 
certain  to  work  for  ill  ;  and,  powerless  to  remedy  the 
mischief  he  deplored,  it  was  no  wonder  Hyde  longed 
to  be  released  from  his  post.  This  release  was  not 
granted  him.  Charles  was  acute  enough  to  value  his 
faithful  service,  and  was  firm  in  resisting  Henrietta's 
desire  for  his  removal.  But  the  feud  between  Chancellor 
and  Queen  reached  such  a  height  that,  though  under 
the  same  roof,  months  passed  without  bringing  about  a 
meeting. 

Apart  from  Henrietta,  the  Chancellor  was  not  a 
popular  man.  Obnoxious  alike  to  Catholics  and  Presby- 
terians, both  parties  were  at  one  time  engaged  in  drawing 
up  petitions  against  the  staunch  Anglican  official  ;  so 
that  Charles,  making  himself  merry  on  the  matter, 
inquired  pleasantly  at  dinner,  in  the  Queen's  presence, 
when  the  two  petitions  against  the  Chancellor  of  the 
Exchequer  were  to  be  presented.  For  Hyde  himself 
it  was  a  more  serious  matter.  It  was  not  Henrietta's 
custom  to  be  silent  over  her  grievances  ;  and  the  Queen- 
Mother  was  made  the  recipient  of  her  complaints. 
Charles,  however,  acted  with  unusual  vigour  in  defence 
of  his  old  friend.  Taking  him  to  witness  the  per- 
formance of  a  court  masque,  he  placed  him  in  a  con- 
spicuous position  near  the  seats  of  the  royal  spectators, 
anticipating  perhaps  that,  as  actually  happened,  he  would 
be     afforded     an     opportunity    of    removing     the    false 


After  the  picture  by  II'.  II 'issing  in  the  National  Portrait  Gallery. 

Photo  by  Pinery  Walker. 


JOHN    WII.MOT,    ICAKI.    <  » J-     Kin   1IKSTKK. 


FRENCH  RECOGNITION  OF  CROMWELL    449 

impression  made  by  his  mother's  representations.  As 
Queen  Anne  entered,  her  attention  was  arrested  by  the 
sight  of  the  Chancellor,  and  she  inquired  who  was  the 
fat  man  seated  next  to  Lord  Ormond. 

"  That,"  Charles  made  answer  aloud,  "  is  the  naughty 
man  who  did  all  the  mischief  and  set  me  against  my 
mother."  "  Whereat  all  laughed,  and  the  Queen  was  not 
displeased." 

Before  the  end  of  the  year  1652,  Henrietta  had  been 
furnished  with  a  more  serious  grievance  than  the  alleged 
predominance  of  the  Chancellor's  power  over  her  son. 
This  was  the  formal  recognition  by  France  of  the  present 
Government  in  England.  Cromwell's  successes  had 
compelled  the  unwilling  respect  of  neighbouring  countries, 
and  a  minister  was  to  be  sent  by  Mazarin  to  London. 
In  passionate  terms  the  Queen  expressed  to  her  sister  the 
grief  and  humiliation  caused  her  by  the  step.  It  had 
given  her,  she  said,  her  final  death-blow — one  she 
could  never  have  believed  it  possible  that  France  would 
have  inflicted.  To  the  Duke  of  York,  fighting  under 
the  French  banner,  she  wrote  that  since  France  had 
recognised  those  infamous  traitors,  it  was  the  intention 
of  the  King  his  brother  to  leave  the  country.  With 
regard  to  the  Duke,  no  determination  had  yet  been 
taken.  He  was  to  appear  to  be  ignorant  of  the  embassy, 
and  if  the  subject  were  broached  to  declare  himself 
unable  to  believe  it  had  been  sent.  Meantime  he  was  to 
let  his  mother  know  his  views  with  regard  to  his  future 
course  o*"  action  ;  after  which  she  would  inform  him 
of  hers,  and  would  do  her  best  to  render  him  happy. 
As  to  herself,  "  when  I  have  given  your  affairs  con- 
sideration I  v/hl  think  of  my  own,  and  will  acquaint  you 
with  my  determination.  I  confess  that  since  my  great 
sorrow,   I   have  felt  nothing  so  much  as  this." 


45° 


HENRIETTA    MARIA 


If  Charles  had  intended  to  mark  his  displeasure  by- 
leaving  France,  his  departure  would  have  constituted, 
in  the  eyes  of  the  French  authorities,  a  welcome  result 
of  the  step  which  had  been  taken.  It  was  becoming 
clear  that  he  would  not  be  permitted  to  find  permanent 
shelter  in  his  cousin's  territory,  and  his  mother  must 
have  anticipated  a  fresh  parting  with  her  eldest  son. 
But  before  she  was  called  upon  to  undergo  it,  she  had 
the  satisfaction  of  regaining  possession  of  his  youngest 
brother.  In  February,  1653,  the  Duke  of  Gloucester  was 
released  from  captivity  and  permitted  to  join  the  rest  of 
his  family  abroad.  The  event,  ultimately  productive  of 
much  dissension  amongst  his  kinsfolk,  was  hailed  by 
Henrietta  with  rejoicing.  Writing  in  her  gladness  to 
impart  the  good  news  to  her  sister,  she  said  she  was 
daily  awaiting  the  arrival  of  the  little  son  whom  the 
rebels  had  wearied  of  keeping,  and  who  was  to  be  sent 
in  the  first  place  to  Antwerp,  from  whence  he  would 
join  her  in  Paris. 

It  was  natural  that  Henrietta  should  be  impatient 
to  see  the  child  from  whom  she  had  been  separated  since 
his  babyhood.  There  were  many,  however,  who,  as  it 
afterwards  appeared  not  without  reason,  were  unwilling 
that  Gloucester  should  visit  Paris.  Hyde  in  particular 
would  have  liked  to  keep  him  at  a  distance  from  his 
mother.  The  Catholics,  he  reported  to  Nicholas,  were 
already  endeavouring  to  have  him  sent  to  France,  but  he 
was  satisfied  with  the  King's  promise.  If  Charles'  promise 
had  been  to  the  effect  that  the  boy  should  not  be  placed 
in  his  mother's  hands,  he  would  have  found  it  difficult  to 
keep.  The  Chancellor  himself  was  soon  constrained 
to  admit  the  Queen's  right  to  see  her  son,  and  by  May 
the  Duke,  not  yet  quite  thirteen,  was  at  Henrietta's 
court,  and  was    there  winning   golden  opinions.     Hyde 


DUKE   OF   GLOUCESTER   IN   PARIS     451 

told  Rochester  that  the  sweet  Duke  of  Gloucester 
was  the  finest  youth  and  of  the  most  manly  understand- 
ing he  had  ever  known,  and  added  that  the  King  had 
determined  that,  upon  his  own  departure,  the  boy  should 
return  to  his  sister,  the  Princess  of  Orange,  with  whom 
he  had  been  staying  before  coming  to  Paris,  and  who 
was  exceedingly  fond  of  him.  To  the  Princess  herself 
Charles  gave  a  promise  that,  after  a  short  visit  to  his 
mother,  her  brother  should  be  sent  back  to  the  Hague. 

Though  the  farewells  of  Mary  and  the  boy  had 
been  attended  "  with  great  passion  of  sorrow  in 
both,"  there  must  have  been  much,  on  his  arrival  in 
Paris,  to  distract  his  thoughts  from  the  recent  parting  ; 
and  he  there  enjoyed  a  great  success.  "  You  know," 
wrote  his  mother  to  her  sister  in  June,  "  how  well  any 
novelty  is  received  in  France,  and  how  greatly  it  is  run 
after.  I  assure  you  that  so  many  visits  are  paid  me 
for  love  of  this  little  cavalier,  whom  every  one  desires 
to  see,  that  I  have  no  leisure  left.  Your  ambassador 
came  to  visit  him  and  will  have  told  you  what  he  thought 
of  him.  All  the  world  says  he  is  your  son  rather  than 
mine.  To  say  this  is  to  praise  him  enough  ;  I  will 
add  no  more." 

The  court  versifier,  Loret,  supplies  a  fuller  descrip- 
tion of  the  new-comer  : 

"  Encor  qu'il  soit  petit  et  mince, 
On  dit  que  ce  tres  joly  prince 
Est  agreable  au  dernier  point 
Et  que  c'est  ne  le  flatter  point 
De  publier  a  sa  louange 
Qu'il  est  beau  comme  un  petit  ange." 

If  Henrietta  was  gratified  at  the  presence  of  her  little 
"  cavalier"  she  will  the  less  readily  have  forgiven  the 
attempts  made  to  deprive  her  of  that  satisfaction.     It  would 

VOL.    II.  IO 


452  HENRIETTA    MARIA 

be  wearisome  and  unnecessary  to  enter  at  length  into 
the  ceaseless  wrangles  between  the  Queen  and  her  party 
and  the  Chancellor  and  his  friends  ;  but  they  must 
have  gone  far  to  render  his  residence  at  the  Palais  Royal 
distasteful  to  a  man  as  ease-loving  as  the  King.  The 
incessant  struggle  to  deprive  Hyde  of  credit  with  his 
master  was  terminated,  so  far  as  the  present  period  was 
concerned,  by  a  characteristic  scene  at  the  Council  Board. 
Some  of  the  charges  preferred  against  the  Chancellor 
were  of  so  extravagant  a  nature  as  to  carry  their  own 
refutation.  But  on  this  occasion  an  accusation  less  easy 
to  refute  was  brought  forward.  He  was  charged  with 
having  aspersed  and  reviled  the  King  by  asserting  that 
he  was  indisposed  to  business,  over-fond  of  pleasure,  and 
did  not  love  to  take  pains.  The  Chancellor,  by  his  own 
confession,  was  "  a  little  out  of  countenance"  at  the 
indictment.  But  an  unexpected  ally  presented  himself 
in  the  King  himself.  Brushing  aside  Hyde's  hesitating 
defence,  Charles  asserted  his  belief  that  the  words  in 
question  had  been  truly  reported — since  the  Chancellor 
had  often  said  as  much  to  himself,  and  more.  They 
were  true  enough,  he  added.  He  was  satisfied  with  the 
Chancellor's  affection  and  took  nothing  ill  that  he 
had  said. 

When  the  injured  party  professed  himself  content, 
little  more  could  be  done.  It  was  generally  understood 
that  further  efforts  to  dislodge  the  obnoxious  minister 
would  prove  equally  vain  ;  and  Hyde,  to  use  his  own 
words,  continued  to  serve  the  King  for  God's  sake. 

So  long  as  Charles  remained  in  Paris  it  must  have 
been  a  painful  service.  A  king  without  a  throne,  a 
sovereign  without  a  people,  the  centre  of  the  intrigues 
of  a  poverty-stricken  group  of  courtiers,  he  may  well 
have  envied  his  brother  James,  winning  distinction  under 


From  the  pictuh  0\  Van  Dyckat  Windsor  Castle. 


HENRY,    DIKE  OF   GLOUCESTER, 

Youngest  son  of  Charles  I. 


FEARS   FOR   THE   KING  453 

Turenne — fighting  for  the  present,  as  he  once  told  the 
King,  to  earn  his  own  bread,  but  hoping  soon  to  be 
fighting  to  win  back  Charles'  crown.  The  King  was 
impatient  to  quit  a  country  where  he  remained  on 
sufferance,  and  where  a  complete  understanding  between 
the  Government  and  his  father's  executioners  was  every 
day  approaching  nearer.  Fears  were  even  entertained 
that  the  impending  treaty  might  include  the  surrender 
of  the  King's  person,  and  English  Royalists  were  urgent 
that  he  should  convey  himself  elsewhere. 

In  July  it  appears  by  news-letters  from  Paris  that 
he  was  expected  shortly  to  start  for  Holland  ;  but  delays, 
financial  and  other,  intervened,  and  it  was  not  until 
a  year  later  that  he  at  length  quitted  France. 


CHAPTER    XXII 

1653— 1654 

Peace  rumours  between  England  and  Holland— Henriette-Anne— Dis- 
putes with  Charles— The  Duke  of  Gloucester— Interview  of  the  Queen 
with  Hyde— Charles'  departure— Anne  Hyde— Attempted  conversion 
of  Gloucester— He  is  removed  from  Paris— Princess  Louise  a  convert. 

THE  year  closed  gloomily  so  far  as  English  affairs 
were    concerned.       Should    a    treaty  be    arranged 
between    England    and    Holland,    it    would    be    a    fresh 
blow  to  Royalist  hopes  ;    and  though   negotiations  with 
this    object    were     said     to     be    broken     off,     a    news- 
letter from  Paris,  despatched  on  Christmas  Eve,    stated 
that    whilst    "  the    Queen    that    was    of    England "    had 
betaken  herself  to  Chaillot,  her  two  sons  were  awaiting 
the  conclusion   of  such  an  alliance  in   Paris.     Henrietta 
was  haunted  by  a  worse  fear — the  apprehension,  namely, 
that  ambassadors  from  Westminster    would  be  received 
at    the    French    court.       This,    she    told    her    sister    in 
a    letter    belonging    to    the    spring    of    1654,  would    be 
the  crown  of  her  misfortunes  ;  and  though  the  Queen- 
Mother  led  her   to  hope  it  would  not  be  the  case,  she 
was    holding   herself  in   readiness   to   quit   Paris,    should 
her  dread  be   realised,   and  to  await   the  event  in  some 
neighbouring    locality.       "  These    reasons    of    State    are 
terrible,"  she  added,  "  and  I  confess  I  do  not  understand 
them.     Perhaps  it  is  because  they  are  against  me. 

In   May   she    was    writing  again,    discarding  on  this 
occasion  the    subject   of   politics,    to    give   a    description 

454 


HENRIETTE-ANNE  455 

of  the  little  daughter  who  was  her  chief  pleasure  and 
consolation.  It  appears  that  the  Duchess  of  Savoy  had 
written,  under  the  impression  that  the  child  was  being 
brought  up  in  her  father's  faith,  to  remonstrate  with 
the  Queen  and  to  urge  upon  her  the  duty  of  making 
a  Catholic  of  her  daughter.  Henrietta  hastened,  with 
some  heat,  to  refute  the  charge  :  "  I  must  tell  you," 
she  wrote,  "  that  I  am  quite  offended  at  the  bad  opinion 
you  have  of  me,  that  you  can  entertain  a  doubt  that, 
having  had  my  daughter  with  me  since  the  age  of  two 
years,  I  should  have  brought  her  up  a  Catholic.  She 
is  as  good  and  zealous  as  any  one.  I  would  that  the 
beauty  of  her  body  were  as  great  as  that  of  her  soul, 
for  truly  she  is  a  good  child.  She  is  much  indebted 
to  those  who  have  given  her  so  much  praise.  It  is 
permitted  to  praise  those  at  a  distance,  since  one  cannot 
be  given  the  lie,  as  I  fear  might  be  the  case  should 
you  see  her.  I  am  afraid  I  am  a  bad  judge  in  this 
matter.  My  desire  that  she  should  be  beautiful  makes 
me,  perhaps,  believe  that  she  is  not.  On  the  other  hand, 
attachment  may  lead  me  to  believe  her  to  be  more  so 
than  she  is.  This  is  why  I  should  do  better  to  be 
silent." 

It  is  possible  that  Henrietta  was  right.  In  spite 
of  the  admiration  excited  by  her  daughter  in  later 
years,  it  does  not  appear  that  she  gave  promise  in  child- 
hood of  any  remarkable  beauty.  Yet  even  at  this  time 
she  possessed  grace  and  charm — a  charm  possibly  en- 
hanced by  the  retirement  in  which  she  had  been  bred. 
Henrietta's  austere  methods  of  education  did  not  alto- 
gether approve  themselves  to  the  judgment  of  her 
sister-in-law,  who  cherished  a  special  attachment  for 
the  child,  and  it  was  probably  in  deference  to  the 
opinion    of   the    Queen-Mother    that    the    Princess    was 


456  HENRIETTA    MARIA 

permitted  this  year  to  assist  at  the  court  entertainments. 
Her  debut  was  made  in  February,  at  a  ball  given  in 
honour  of  the  Prince  de  Conti's  marriage,  when  verses 
were  written,  after  the  fashion  of  the  day,  to  celebrate 
her  first  appearance  in  public  ;  in  April  she  took  her 
part  in  a  royal  ballet,  crowned  with  lilies  and  roses, 
and  reciting  a  poem  by  Benserade  illustrative  of  her 
misfortunes  ;  and  in  June  she  was  present  with  her 
mother  at  King  Louis'  coronation. 

It  may  be  that  Henrietta  had  not  been  altogether 
unwilling  to  relax  the  severity  of  her  own  rule,  and 
to  display  her  daughter  to  an  admiring  world.  The 
Duke  of  York  must  also  have  been  a  source  of  satis- 
faction and  pride,  having  returned  to  Paris,  according 
to  a  report  sent  by  Hyde  to  Sir  Richard  Browne,  full 
of  reputation  and  honour.  But  if  the  Queen  was 
finding  pleasure  in  two  of  her  children,  it  is  evident 
from  a  draft  of  the  King's  reply  that  she  had  been 
expressing  no  little  discontent  with  regard  to  her  eldest 
son.  Charles  could  not,  he  protested,  accuse  himself 
of  having  used  the  Queen  ill,  as  she  said  he  had  done. 
He  would  thus  affirm  an  untruth  against  himself.  But 
he  could  not  acknowledge  as  a  fault  the  concealment 
of  some  matters  of  business  ;  nor  could  he  promise  to 
follow  her  advice.  There  might  be  particulars  of  which 
he  could  not  inform  her  without  a  breach  of  trust  ; 
and  to  promise  to  follow  any  advice  would  be  to  ascribe 
too  much  infallibility  to  any  person  and  to  give  up 
his  liberty.  He  would  defer  to  her  judgment  more 
than  to  that  of  any  one  living,  and  no  misconstruction 
should  ever  lessen  his  affection.  He  wished  to  know 
who  were  those  enemies  of  hers  who  were  so  high 
in  his  confidence,  and  would  dismiss  any  man  proved 
to  have  been  guilty  of  disrespect  towards  her. 


DISPUTES   WITH    CHARLES  457 

Whether  mother  or  son  were  in  the  right,  the 
condition  of  things  thus  reflected  would  have  been 
equally  disturbing,  and  that  their  strained  relations  were 
matter  of  public  gossip  is  proved  by  an  intercepted 
letter  printed  amongst  the  Thurloe  papers.  The  "  little 
Queen  " — Henrietta  is  often  thus  designated  in  documents 
of  the  kind — was  said  to  have  had  hot  disputes  with 
the  King,  when  Prince  Rupert,  Sir  Edward  Herbert, 
and  Sir  John  Berkeley  had  been  the  subjects  of  dis- 
cussion, Charles  declaring  that  these  men  had  so  behaved 
themselves  that  they  should  never  more  have  his  trust 
nor  his  company.  "  My  Lord  Garrard,"  added  the 
writer,  "  is  upon  as  ticklish  terms,  and  so  will  all 
those  that  think  to  use  this  young  man  as  they  did 
his  father  ;  for  though  in  appearance  he  is  gentle, 
familiar  and  easy,  yet  he  will  not  be  purmanded  nor 
governed  by  violent  humours  such  as  these  are.  If  I 
am  told  truth,  the  little  Queen  and  her  Jermyn  had 
more  of  show  than  of  reality  in  their  last  attempt,  for 
these  men  are  as  uneasy  to  them  as  to  Charles  Stewart, 
and  are  glad  to  be  rid  of  them  at  another's  cost.  Charles 
Stewart  has  taken  his  leave  of  the  French  court,  but  not 
of  his  mother,  so  that  I  conclude  this  month  will  be 
spent  in  France." 

It  will  be  observed  that  the  tone  used  in  alluding 
to  the  young  King  indicates,  in  an  opponent,  if  not  a 
certain  degree  of  kindliness,  at  least  an  absence  of  personal 
hostility.  A  mention  of  him  in  an  earlier  news-letter 
conveys  a  similar  impression.  The  writer  of  this  last  had 
assisted  at  a  supper  at  which,  "  to  avoid  being  under- 
stood other  than  a  cavalier,  I  did  as  the  wicked  would 
have  me,  for  which  my  head  has  well  paid  for  it 
since.  .  .  .  That  night  I  saw  their  King.  He  is  well 
recovered  of  his  fever,  and  he  is  a  goodly  young  man. 


458  HENRIETTA   MARIA 

God  forgive  me,  I  drank  his  health  a  dozen  times  that 
cursed  night." 

The  disputes  between  the  goodly  young  man  and 
his  mother  may,  as  before,  have  tended  to  reconcile 
Henrietta  to  a  separation.  It  was  becoming  plain  that 
it  could  not  be  indefinitely  postponed.  The  French 
Government  was  anxious  to  be  quit  of  its  compromising 
guest  ;  and  by  the  end  of  June  the  Queen  was  writing 
to  her  sister  that  Charles  was  to  leave  Paris  the 
following  week,  going  in  the  first  place  to  Spa,  with 
the  intention  of  proceeding  through  Germany  to  Scotland. 
The  Duke  of  York  was  to  rejoin  the  army,  where  he 
was  now  to  be  promoted  to  the  rank  of  Lieutenant- 
General.     "  As   for   the   little   one,"    the    Queen  added, 

"  he  remains  here,  that    I    may  do    him    some  good   if 

I>> 
can. 

It    was    precisely   the  dread  that   his   mother   might 

be  successful  in  the  intention   thus  expressed  that    was 

causing    apprehension    to    the    family    and     friends    of 

the    Duke    of   Gloucester.       For    reasons    of   State,    as 

well    as    for    those    of  a    more    spiritual    nature,    it   was 

considered    in    the    highest    degree    important    that    the 

son    of    Charles    I.     and    the    brother    of    Charles     II. 

should    not    be    led    to    conform    to    her    faith.     There 

were     observers    ever    on    the    watch,     ready     to     make 

capital    out    of    any    symptoms    of    Romish    proclivities 

on    the    part     of    the     Stewart    exiles ;     as    when,    in 

January   of  this    year,   news  was  forwarded  to  England 

that    "  Charles   Stewart    and   his  fraternity  went   to  pass 

away    the    afternoon    at    the  Jesuits  of   Saint  Anthony's 

Street ;  and  under  pretence  of  the  feast  of  New  Year's 

Day  he  did  begin  to  contribute  to  the  service  of  idols, 

which    discovers    more    and     more    of    the    baseness    of 

their  hearts." 


FEARS   FOR   GLOUCESTER  459 

Whatever  imprudences  he  may  have  been  guilty 
of  on  his  own  account,  Charles  was  fully  determined 
that  his  chances  of  restoration  should  not  suffer  through 
his  brother  ;  and  he  had  originally  intended  that  the 
boy  should  not  remain  in  Paris  after  he  had  quitted 
it.  The  Queen,  on  the  other  hand,  was  urgent  in 
demanding  that  her  son  should  be  left  in  her  care.  She 
represented  with  truth  the  singular  disadvantages  under 
which  he  had,  so  far,  laboured.  Until  his  arrival  in 
France  he  had  seen  neither  a  court  nor  good  company  ; 
and  should  he  be  removed  from  Paris  it  would  argue 
both  disrespect  to  herself  and  unkindness  to  the  boy. 
She  further  gave  the  King  to  understand  that  it  was 
neither  her  own  intention  to  interfere  with  his  religion, 
nor  to  permit  others  to  do  so. 

This  promise  so  far  satisfied  Charles  that  he  was 
prevailed  upon  to  consent  to  his  brother's  remaining 
behind.  But  judging  by  the  instructions  he  issued, 
both  to  the  boy  and  to  the  Duke  of  York,  he  was 
not  untroubled  by  misgivings  in  so  doing.  On  his 
"  brother  Harry  "  he  enjoined,  as  his  father  had  upon 
himself,  obedience  to  the  Queen  in  all  save  religion — in 
which  she  had  promised  to  attempt  no  change.  Should 
any  one  speak  to  him  on  that  subject,  he  was  to  avoid 
discussion  and  to  inform  his  brothers.  To  the  Duke 
of  York  he  wrote  in  the  same  strain,  telling  him  of  his 
mother's  promise,  but  adding  that,  should  any  attempt 
be  made  to  change  the  boy's  religion,  the  Duke  must 
take  the  best  care  he  could  to  prevent  his  being  wrought 
upon. 

Before  leaving  Paris  Charles  appears  to  have  felt 
that  he  had  yet  another  duty  to  perform.  Since  his 
mother  and  the  Chancellor  had  found  it  impossible  to 
live  together  in  amity,  Charles  desired  that  they  should 


460  HENRIETTA    MARIA 

at  least  part  in  peace  ;  and  with  that  object  arranged 
a  farewell  interview  between  them.  It  proved  a  failure. 
Hyde,  on  being  introduced  to  the  Queen's  presence, 
instead  of  wisely  letting  bygones  be  bygones,  begged  to 
be  acquainted  with  the  grounds  of  her  displeasure  ;  when 
Henrietta,  "  with  more  emotion  and  a  louder  voice  than 
usual,"  told  him  that  she  had  consented  to  see  him 
by  reason  of  the  King's  importunity  ;  that  he  had  no 
cause  to  expect  to.  be  welcome  to  her  ;  that  his  dis- 
respect was  notorious  ;  that  all  men  knew  that,  though 
lodging  under  her  roof,  he  avoided  her,  and  that  the 
fact  that  she  had  not  seen  him  for  six  months  was  an 
affront  in  itself. 

Hyde  answered  at  length.  He  had  never  yet  been 
in  Bedlam,  he  said,  which  he  would  have  deserved  had 
he  published  the  Queen's  displeasure  by  a  voluntary 
avoidance  of  her  ;  adding  that  he  had  kept  out  of  her 
presence  only  after  it  had  been  made  manifest  that  he 
was  unwelcome,  and  again  begging  to  know  his  fault. 
Henrietta  was  neither  softened  nor  convinced.  She 
rehearsed  her  old  grievances,  Hyde's  credit  with  the 
King,  and  his  alleged  endeavours  to  lessen  her  own  ; 
added  that  she  would  be  glad  to  see  reason  to  change 
her  mind,  "  and  so,  carelessly  extended  her  hand  towards 
him,  which  he  kissing,  her  Majesty  departed  to  her 
chamber." 

Charles  must  have  been  sorry  that  he  had  insisted 
upon  a  scene  of  reconciliation  corresponding  so  ill  with 
his  hopes  ;  and  thus  mother  and  son  took  leave  of 
each  other  for  an  indefinite  period.  Relief,  it  may  be, 
mingled  with  their  regrets  ;  whilst  the  rejoicing  of  the 
Chancellor  at  his  own  escape  from  Paris  and  that  of 
his  young  master  will  have  been  unmixed.  If  he  con- 
tinued   to    deplore    the    Queen's    animosity,    it    was    to 


ANNE   HYDE  461 

prove  no  bar  to  the  advancement  of  his  interests  ;  and 
in  the  autumn  his  daughter  Anne  was  promoted  to  be 
lady-in-waiting  to  the  Princess  of  Orange — an  appoint- 
ment productive  of  consequences  well  calculated  to 
justify  in  Henrietta's  eyes  her  distrust  of  the  father. 

Mary  had  already  cast  a  favourable  eye  upon  the 
Chancellor's  daughter.  "  I  presume,"  Hyde  had  written 
some  two  years  earlier  to  Nicholas,  "  you  think  my  wife 
a  fool  for  being  so  indulgent  to  her  girl  as  to  send  her 
abroad  on  such  a  gadding  journey.  I  am  very  glad  she 
hath  had  the  good  fortune  to  be  graciously  received  by 
her  Royal  Highness,  but  I  think  it  would  be  too  much 
vanity  in  me  to  take  any  notice  of  it." 

The  dislike  entertained  by  Henrietta  for  the  Hyde 
connection  would  have  been  a  reason  the  more  that  her 
sister-in-law,  the  Queen  of  Bohemia,  should  espouse 
their  cause,  and  in  November,  1654,  Elizabeth  sent  a 
gracious  message,  through  Nicholas,  to  tell  the  Chancellor 
that  she  had  seen  his  wife  and  daughter,  adding  that 
she  had  found  her  favourite  grown  every  way  to  her 
advantage.  The  Princess  Royal  would  therefore  have 
had  her  aunt's  approval  in  bestowing  upon  Anne  a  post 
in  her  household.  The  Chancellor,  it  was  true,  demurred. 
The  favour  shown  to  his  daughter  would,  he  urged, 
draw  upon  him  a  further  access  of  the  Queen's  displeasure, 
which  already  heavily  oppressed  him,  and  of  which  the 
Princess  would  experience  a  share.  Mary,  however,  was 
not  disposed  to  give  way.  She  had  always,  she  said, 
paid  her  due  duty  to  her  mother,  but  she  was  mistress 
in  her  own  house,  receiving  what  servants  she  pleased. 
In  the  end  the  father's  objections  were  overruled  and 
his  daughter,  for  good  or  ill,  accepted  the  proffered 
position. 

Meantime,  the  months  following  upon  the  departure 


462  HENRIETTA   MARIA 

of  her  two  elder  sons  must  have  been  full  of  anxiety 
to  Henrietta,  more  especially  with  regard  to  the  Duke 
of  York  ;  and  when  the  victory  of  Arras  was  won  by 
Turenne,  Henrietta  was  uncertain  for  two  days  whether 
he  was  alive  or  dead.  In  September  she  was  once  more 
in  an  agony  of  apprehension,  lest  Cromwell's  ambassadors 
should  be  received  at  the  French  court.  "  Nothing,"  she 
repeated,  "  since  the  death  of  my  Lord  the  King,  has 
touched  me  as  nearly  as  this.  It  seems  like  killing  his 
memory,  which  is  so  dear  to  me." 

It  would  seem  that  absence  had  not  put  an  end  to 
the  questions  at  issue  between  the  Queen  and  her  eldest 
son.  Of  what  nature  they  were  is  not  specified  ;  but 
Lord  Hatton,  reporting  in  October  that  she  continued 
ill,  added  that  it  was  said  that  she  was  as  much  vexed  as 
sick,  "  by  reason  of  the  King's  noble  ways,  which  recover 
others."  Before  the  end  of  the  month  she  had  given 
Charles  a  legitimate  cause  of  complaint. 

Less  than  a  week  after  Lord  Hatton's  letter  had 
been  written,  the  English  colony  in  Paris  were  startled 
by  the  announcement  that  the  Duke  of  Gloucester  had 
been  sent  to  pay  a  visit  to  Pontoise,  where  Walter 
Montagu  was  Abbot.  The  explanation  of  this  arrange- 
ment was  given  in  letters  from  Lovell,  the  Duke's  tutor, 
to  Charles  and  Hyde — delayed  for  a  week  or  two  by 
authority — stating  that  he  had  been  apprised  by  the 
Queen  of  her  intention  to  endeavour  by  all  fair  means 
to  effect  her  son's  conversion.  The  tutor,  placed  in  a 
difficult  position,  anxious  alike  to  do  his  duty  and  avoid 
giving  offence,  a  timorous  man  moreover  and  by  no 
means  of  the  stuff  of  which  martyrs  are  made,  had 
replied  that,  whilst  bound,  so  long  as  he  was  at  hand,  to 
confirm  his  charge  in  his  own  faith,  it  was  for  the  Queen 
to  dispose  of  him  as  she  should  please.     In  plain  words 


ATTEMPT   TO   CONVERT   GLOUCESTER     463 

he  was  ready,  in  case  of  necessity,  to  abandon  the  field  to 
the  enemy. 

Before  any  answer  could  be  received  from  Cologne, 
where  the  King  then  was,  a  concrete  form  had  been 
given  to  the  apprehensions  entertained  by  those  watching 
the  course  of  events  in  Paris.  Sir  George  Radcliffe, 
chancing  to  visit  the  Jesuit  college  at  Clermont,  found 
masons  busy  preparing  an  apartment  destined  to  receive 
the  Duke,  who  was,  he  was  told,  shortly  to  be  admitted 
to  the  college.  The  news  quickly  spread,  causing  general 
consternation.  Dean  Cosins  was  in  tears,  begging  Lovell 
to  read  the  church  prayers  in  the  boy's  bedroom  at 
Pontoise — an  office  the  cautious  tutor  excused  himself 
from  undertaking,  lest  offence  should  thereby  be  given 
to  the  Abbot.  He  took  the  step,  instead,  of  informing 
his  pupil  of  his  mother's  intentions  of  attacking  him  on 
the  subject  of  religion,  whereat  the  Duke  was  "  much 
troubled"  ;  whilst  Lovell  began  to  contemplate  a  journey 
to  Italy  and  to  indulge  anxious  misgivings  with  regard 
to  emoluments. 

Matters  stood  thus  when  Montagu  inaugurated  the 
siege  of  what  some  one  termed  "  the  sweet  fortress  of 
Gloucester  "  ;  basing  his  earlier  arguments  chiefly  upon 
the  mundane  advantages  likely  to  accrue  to  the  convert. 
It  behoved  the  Duke  to  look  for  a  subsistence  ;  nor  was 
it  to  be  expected  that  the  Queen,  out  of  her  limited 
means,  would  provide  for  him  unless  his  conduct  was 
such  as  to  meet  her  wishes.  Hints  were  also  said  to 
be  thrown  out  of  a  cardinal's  hat,  to  be  bestowed  upon 
a  royal  proselyte.  To  Lovell  Montagu  suggested  the 
discovery  of  a  reason  for  absenting  himself,  and  the  pliable 
tutor  began  to  turn  his  thoughts  more  and  more  towards 
a  winter  in  Rome.  It  was  difficult,  he  truly  said,  to 
serve  two  powers  with  contrary  wills. 


464  HENRIETTA    MARIA 

By  November  5th  Gloucester  had  been  permitted  to 
visit  Paris,  for  the  ostensible  purpose  of  paying  his 
respects  to  the  King  and  Queen,  recently  returned  from 
the  country.  Availing  himself  with  promptness  of  the 
opportunity  thus  afforded  him,  he  sent  on  his  arrival  to 
command  Cosins'  attendance  on  the  following  morning  ; 
when,  taking  the  Dean  aside,  he  "  complained  of  the 
great  task  he  had  to  undergo  without  authorised  assist- 
ance," and  repeated  the  arguments  used  by  Montagu. 
The  interview  was  interrupted  by  the  Abbot.  He  desired 
the  Duke  to  be  in  readiness  to  accompany  him  to  the 
court,  reproved  him  for  having  failed  to  send  for  his 
barber,  and  directed  the  length  to  which  his  hair  was 
to  be  cut. 

Conducted  to  the  Louvre  by  Montagu  and  his  mother, 
the  boy  was  received  with  great  civility  by  King  and 
Queen.  Was  he  yet  absolutely  turned?  asked  Anne 
of  Henrietta,  watching  with  interest  the  progress  of 
her  sister-in-law's  enterprise.  "  Non  pas  encore,"  was 
the  Queen's  reply.  Determined  to  lose  no  time  in 
effecting  the  desired  change,  Henrietta  had  a  second 
interview  with  Lovell  on  the  same  day,  informing  him 
that  she  was  resolved  to  proceed  in  the  matter  and  that 
it  would  be  advisable  that  he  should  depart.  To  lay 
the  affair  first  before  the  King,  she  said  in  reply  to 
a  suggestion  of  the  tutor's  to  that  effect,  would  take 
too  much  time.  Upon  this  Montagu  entered,  and, 
being  made  acquainted  with  the  subject  of  the  dis- 
cussion, took  a  high  tone  ;  wondered  at  "  that  person's  ' 
obstinacy  in  not  obeying  the  Queen  in  her  own  house, 
and  proceeded  further  to  speak  in  slighting  terms 
of  Charles'  authority.  Lovell,  according  to  his  own 
account,  had  been  very  bold,  and,  informed  that  he 
had    leave    to    quit    his    post,    had    declined    to    do    so, 


ATTEMPT   TO   CONVERT   GLOUCESTER     465 

unless  in  obedience  to  a  positive  command.  In  making 
his  report,  he  likewise  took  much  credit  for  the  advice 
he  had  given  his  charge.  Others  would  have  kindled  the 
Duke  to  such  a  flame  as  might  have  burned  one  hour 
and  died  the  next,  and  would  have  made  him  obstinate 
in  a  manner  to  cause  subsequent  shame.  But  in  his 
interview  with  the  Queen,  Gloucester  had  fortunately 
followed  Lovell's  own  directions  ;  had  shown  humility 
and  affection,  and  professed  his  readiness  to  obey  her 
in  all  he  could  whilst  remaining  constant  to  his  religion 
and  to  the  commands  of  his  father  and  brother.  He  had 
also  added  his  prayers  that  the  Queen  would  not  make 
him  disobey,  thereby  putting  her  to  "some  trouble"; 
and  had  displayed  the  instructions  left  with  him  by 
Charles.  The  assertion  contained  in  this  paper,  to  the 
effect  that  she  had  promised  not  to  meddle  with  the  boy's 
reHgion,  Henrietta  declared  to  be  a  mistake.  She  yielded, 
however,  in  the  end,  so  far  as  to  say  that  matters  should 
proceed  no  further  till  communication  had  been  held  with 
the  King.  Lovell  was  to  be  absented  from  the  Duke 
only  temporarily  ;  "  and  the  behaviour  he  [Gloucester] 
has  shown  to-day  has  been  so  pretty,  with  such  affection 
and  concernment,"  that  his  tutor  hoped  that  he  would 
but  be  roused  by  solitude  to  understanding  and  spirit. 

At  this  stage  it  seems  to  have  occurred  to  the  Queen 
that  the  Cologne  mail  could  not  be  indefinitely  detained  ; 
and  that  it  would  be  well  that  her  report,  supplement- 
ing that  of  others,  should  represent  what  was  going 
forward  in  as  favourable  a  light  as  possible.  She 
therefore  opened  communication  with  the  King.  He 
would  no  doubt  have  heard,  she  told  him,  much  to 
her  prejudice,  of  her  design  ;  proceeding  further  to 
offer  her  explanations.  Seeing  that  the  Duke  was  wasting 
his    time   and   becoming  very  unruly,  she   had  sent  him 


±66  HENRIETTA    MARIA 

to  Pontoise,  in  order  thereby  to  put  an  end  to  his 
acquaintance  with  other  little  lads  by  whom  he  had 
been  persuaded  to  nothing  but  amusement.  She  had 
also  considered  herself  bound  to  make  known  to  him 
the  articles  of  her  religion,  though  she  would  neither 
force  him  nor  break  her  promise. 

Gloucester  wrote  to  his  brother,  with  boyish  succinct- 
ness. The  Queen  had  spoken  to  him,  and  had  said  she 
would  have  him  instructed  in  her  religion.  Thereupon 
he  had  quoted  his  father's  and  brother's  commands, 
begging  her  to  write  to  the  King  before  he  heard  any 
disputing. 

Jermyn  was  the  next  writer,  his  tone  of  indifferentism 
contrasting  sharply  with  the  excited  partisanship  of  others, 
and  carefully  guarding  himself  from  the  expression  of 
any  forecast  as  to  the  result  of  the  Queen's  present 
action.  He  could  wish  the  thing  had  not  been  under- 
taken, and  that  it  might  not  succeed ;  but  could  add 
nothing  to  such  wishes.  He,  in  fact,  did  not  intend 
interference.  Lord  Hatton  was,  on  the  contrary,  in  a 
condition  bordering  on  hysteria.  At  the  hazard  of  his 
own  life  and  that  of  those  nearest  to  him  he  would, 
he  wrote,  venture  all  to  rescue  the  sweet  Duke.  "  If 
the  Duke  of  Gloucester  be  thus  lost,  we  are  lost."  He 
could  neither  eat  nor  sleep  till  a  remedy  was  applied, 
and  had  never  been  in  such  disorder  before. 

The  bag  containing  these  communications  reached  the 
"little  melancholy  court"  at  Cologne  on  November  ioth. 
Henrietta  had  begged  the  King  not  to  be  excited  at  her 
tidings,  counting  perhaps  upon  his  easy-going  nature  to 
incline  him  to  acquiescence.  If  so,  her  reckoning  was 
defective.  Never  before,  said  Hyde,  had  he  seen  him 
in  so  great  trouble  of  mind,  or  so  awakened.  To 
his     mother    he    promptly    sent    a    hurried    but    urgent 


CHARLES'   ATTITUDE  467 

remonstrance,  reminding  her  of  her  promises  and  his 
dead  father's  words.  For  his  own  part,  what  she  was 
doing  would  make  all  his  Protestant  subjects  believe  his 
own  acts  and  words  to  be  "  nothing  but  a  grimace." 

To  Jermyn  he  sent  a  sharp  rebuke,  adding  that,  did 
he  not  exert  himself  to  prevent  the  Duke's  conversion, 
he  would  see  or  hear  from  the  King  no  more  :  the 
breach  between  Charles  and  his  mother  would  be 
irreparable.  His  reply  to  Gloucester  contained  a  similar 
menace.  Should  he  listen  to  the  Queen  he  would  never 
see  England  or  his  brother  more,  and  would  be  the  ruin 
of  his  King  and  his  country.  If  he  did  not  observe  the 
words  of  his  dead  father,  it  would  be  the  last  time  he 
would  hear  from  Charles. 

But  it  was  not  upon  letters  alone  that  the  King 
relied.  Ormond  was  to  carry  his  injunctions,  and  was 
forthwith  despatched  to  Paris  with  orders  to  bring 
his  influence  to  bear  not  only  upon  the  Queen  and 
Gloucester,  but,  if  necessary,  upon  the  French  authorities 
by  whom  Henrietta  was  supported,  and  to  use  his 
best  endeavours  to  remove  the  boy  from  his  mother's 
vicinity  and  to  bring  him  to  Cologne. 

On  his  arrival  in  Paris,  the  messenger  found  that 
the  Duke  had  been  sent  back  to  Pontoise.  The 
apartments  destined  for  the  boy's  use  at  Clermont  were 
ready  ;  thanksgivings  for  his  conversion  had  already 
been  offered  in  some  churches,  and  keen  anxiety  was 
felt  as  to  the  course  likely  to  be  pursued  by  the  King. 
So  far,  the  object  of  all  this  solicitude  had  shown 
singular  determination  and  constancy  ;  a  controversial 
paper  prepared  by  Dr.  Cosins  and  smuggled  into  Pontoise 
by  Lord  Hatton  having  been  studied  by  his  single 
Protestant  attendant,  a  mere  lad  named  Griffin,  who 
communicated  its  purport  to  the  Duke  as  the  two 
VOL.    11.  11 


468  HENRIETTA   MARIA 

lay  awake  at  night  and  thus  fortified  his  master  against 
any  arguments  by  which  he  might  be  assailed. 

Though  delays  had  occurred  in  executing  the 
Queen's  purpose,  November  20th,  the  very  day  of 
Ormond's  arrival,  had  been  fixed  for  the  initiation  of 
the  Duke's  residence  at  Clermont  ;  and  the  Duke  of 
York,  who  had  returned  a  day  or  two  earlier  from 
the  army,  was  permitted  to  hold  no  communication 
with  his  brother  save  in  the  Queen's  presence.  It  was 
clear    that    there    was    no    time    to    be   lost. 

Ormond's  first  interview  with  Henrietta  was  incon- 
clusive. Her  promise  to  the  King  was  declared  by  her  to 
have  had  reference  to  violence  alone  as  a  means  of 
persuasion ;  and  she  ultimately  cut  the  envoy  short 
with  a  promise  to  think  the  matter  over.  It  was 
unnecessary,  she  added,  for  Charles'  messenger  to  visit 
Pontoise,  as  the  Duke  was  very  shortly  to  return  to 
Paris.  Ormond,  though  he  did  not  say  so,  differed  from 
the  Queen.  He  proceeded  to  Pontoise  on  the  following 
day  ;  obtained  speech  with  the  Duke,  finding  himself 
astonished  at  the  pertinence  and  method  of  Gloucester's 
discourse  ;  and  quickly  succeeded  in  effecting  the  re- 
moval of  the  boy  to  Paris.  To  proceed  further  he  was, 
so  far,  powerless,  the  Queen  having  demanded  a  few 
days'  delay  before  making  her  reply  to  the  King's  letters 
and  directions. 

The  attitude  taken  up  by  Charles  was  causing,  if 
not  surprise,  some  indignation  at  the  Palais  Royal  ; 
and  Jermyn  in  particular  accepted  his  rebuke  in  no 
spirit  of  meekness.  Had  the  King  used  desires  and 
commands  instead  of  threatenings,  he  could,  he  wrote, 
have  done  no  more.  If  he  were  never  to  see  and  hear 
from  Charles  again — though  the  facility  with  which  that 
resolution  had  been  taken  might  afford  him  some  con- 


ORMOND'S   MISSION  469 

solation — no  man  would  be  more  sensible  of  the  mis- 
fortune. But  it  was  strange  that  an  event  so  easy  to 
foresee  should  not  have  been  prevented  by  those  on 
whom  it  was  incumbent,  whilst  it  was  expected  from 
perhaps  the  only  Protestant  in  the  world  with  a  good 
excuse  to  let  it  alone.  Lord  Percy,  also  fallen  under 
the  King's  displeasure,  expressed  his  regrets  that  Charles 
should  have  honoured  him  with  a  letter.  He  had  never 
been  an  officious  though  always  a  dutiful  servant  ;  and 
having  received  no  commands  would  not  act  without 
them,  especially  when  such  action  would  have  clashed 
with   the  Queen,  whom  he  so  much  honoured. 

Possibly  Charles  felt  he  had  been  unjust.  Gloucester, 
whether  under  pressure  from  the  delinquents  or  not, 
sent  a  letter  to  say  that  he  heard  the  King  had  written 
sharply  to  Jermyn  ;  but  that  had  it  not  been  for  him, 
Berkeley,  and  Crofts — all  three  accused  of  connivance 
in  the  Queen's  designs — Ormond  would  have  found  him 
in  the  Jesuit  college  ;  and  Charles'  authority  had  been 
likewise  upheld  by  Percy  against  the  arguments  of  "  that 
desperate  casuist  " — to  quote  Hyde — Mr.  Montagu, 
who  would  have  set  limits  to  it. 

Ormond,  meanwhile,  was  growing  impatient.  In 
spite  of  assurances  to  the  contrary,  he  was  apprehensive 
that  obstacles  would  be  placed  in  the  way  of  the  Duke's 
rendering  obedience  to  his  brother's  summons  and 
accompanying  him  to  Cologne.  On  November  28th, 
when  the  envoy  had  been  a  week  in  Paris,  a  decisive 
interview,  however,  took  place  between  mother  and  son. 
She  presumed,  she  told  him,  that  he  was  weary  of  being 
solicited.  Truly  she  was  weary  too.  She  would  there- 
fore shorten  his  trial.  He  was  to  give  Montagu  one 
more  hearing,  to  sequester  himself  and  to  think  the 
matter   over,   and   to    bring    her   his   answer  that   night. 


47o  HENRIETTA    MARIA 

When  his  answer  was  made  it  was  such  as  might  have 
been  expected.  It  is  likely  enough  that,  setting  aside 
the  boy's  natural  bias  in  favour  of  the  faith  in  which 
he  had  been  bred,  the  methods  used  in  attempting 
his  conversion  had  called  into  play  all  the  sturdy  com- 
bativeness  inherent  in  the  British  schoolboy  ;  nor  is  it 
improbable  that  by  this  time,  and  with  Ormond  to  back 
him,  he  had  entered  not  without  enjoyment  into  the 
spirit  of  the  fight.  In  any  case,  he  was  firm  in  his 
determination  to  resist  the  Queen's  wishes. 

For  Henrietta's  conduct  there  is  no  excuse  to  be 
made.  It  is  impossible  not  to  discern  in  it  a  very 
unspiritual  indignation  at  the  resistance  which  had  been 
successfully  offered  to  her  will.  With  what  must  have 
been  an  uncontrolled  outbreak  of  passion,  she  told  the 
Duke  that  she  would  no  longer  own  him  as  her  son, 
and  commanded  him  to  leave  her  presence  ;  forbidding 
him  to  set  foot  again  in  her  lodging,  and  adding  that  she 
would  allow  him  nothing  but  his  chamber  to  lie  in  until 
Ormond  should  provide  for  him  elsewhere.  When  the 
lad  knelt  to  crave  her  blessing  she  refused   it. 

The  next  day   or    two   were    spent  in   hurried    con- 
sultations.    To  Ormond  the  Queen  said  that  she  would 
take  no  more  care  of  the  Duke  ;  and  to  his  request  for 
permission  to  take  him  to  his   brother,  replied   that   he 
should  have  her  leave  for  nothing,  but  that  she  would 
not  hinder  him.     York  made   intercession  in   vain,  and 
when   Gloucester    waylaid    her   on  her  way  to  mass,   in 
order  once  more  to  crave  her  blessing,  she  rejected  him 
"  with    great    indignation."      It    would    seem    that    the 
Duke's  own  temper  here  gave  way  ;  for  when  Montagu, 
finding    him    "  much     discomposed,"     asked    what    had 
occasioned    his    disorder,    he    turned   fiercely  upon    the 
Abbot.     "  What  I  am   to  thank    you  for,  sir,"  he  said 


THE   QUEEN'S  ANGER  471 

hotly,  "  and  it  is  but  reason  that  what  my  mother  said 
to  me,  I  should  now  say  to  you — be  sure  I  see  your 
face  no  more."  After  which  he  repaired  with  his 
brother  to  Sir  Richard  Browne's  chapel,  there  to  attend 
the  English  service. 

It  was  manifest  that  no  relenting  was  to  be  expected 
from  the  Queen.  Orders  were  given  that  the  Duke 
was  not  to  be  supplied  with  provisions  ;  his  horses  were 
turned  out  of  the  stables,  the  sheets  removed  from  his 
bed,  and  when,  after  a  day  spent  at  Lord  Hatton's, 
he  stole  back,  in  his  mother's  absence,  to  the  Palais 
Royal  to  bid  his  little  sister  farewell,  so  great  was  the 
child's  consternation  at  his  obstinacy  that  she  could  do 
nothing  but  shriek  aloud,  crying,  "  Oh  me,  my  mother  ! 
Oh  me,  my  brother  !  Oh,  my  mother,  what  shall  I  do  ? 
I  am  undone  for  ever  !  '  Under  these  circumstances, 
little  comfort  was  to  be  had  at  the  palace.  It  was  there- 
fore arranged  that  Lord  Hatton  should  give  him  house- 
room  for  the  present  ;  and  when  the  Queen-Mother  and 
her  younger  son,  the  Duke  of  Anjou,  called  upon 
Henrietta,  and  Anjou  was  sent  to  Gloucester's  apart- 
ments, to  try  the  effect  of  his  persuasions,  his  cousin 
was  gone. 

It  is  proof  of  the  impecunious  condition  of  the 
English  refugees,  that  only  by  pawning  his  Garter 
and  jewel  could  Ormond  raise  money  to  remove  the 
boy  to  Cologne.  Meantime  Gloucester's  spirits  were 
rising  at  the  prospect  of  emancipation  from  maternal 
control,  and  in  a  letter  to  Nicholas  his  host  gives  a 
message  from  his  "  little  great  ghest  "  to  the  effect  that 
he  knew  the  Secretary  would  be  active  and  accompany 
him  at  all  his  sports  ;  and  that,  though  he  feared  the 
Chancellor  would  be  lazy,  he  intended  to  put  him  to  it. 
Before  Christmas  the  Duke,  with  Ormond  and  his  small 


472  HENRIETTA   MARIA 

household,  were  on  their  way  to  Cologne,  and  the 
Queen's  separation  from  her  son  was  effected.  To  his 
desire  that  he  should  be  allowed  to  take  leave  of 
her  and  receive  a  parting  blessing,  she  had  replied 
by  rejecting  the  letter  conveying  the  request  ;  and 
Gloucester  proceeded,  unforgiven,  to  join  his  brother. 
The  two  never  met  again. 

Thus  ended  an  episode  presenting  Henrietta  in  the 
most  unpleasing  light  of  any  to  be  recorded.  That  she 
acted  in  obedience  to  the  dictates  of  her  conscience 
there  is  no  reason  to  doubt ;  but  it  was  a  conscience 
delivered  into  the  keeping  of  Walter  Montagu  ;  and  the 
methods  employed  to  force  her  son  to  act  against  his 
own  are  suggestive  of  a  fanaticism  touched  with  madness. 
Writing  to  Charles  in  answer  to  his  remonstrances,  she 
told  him,  in  reference  to  his  reminder  of  his  father's 
wishes,  that,  though  she  could  say  with  great  truth 
that  she  would  willingly  have  given  her  life  to  save  the 
King's,  nothing  that  he  could  say,  were  he  now  alive, 
would  have  had  more  effect  than  her  son's  protests. 

In  extenuation,  if  not  in  defence,  of  her  conduct, 
the  spirit  of  the  times  must  be  borne  in  mind,  and  the 
fact  that  the  Queen  of  Bohemia's  daughter  Louise, 
afterwards  Abbess  of  Maubuisson,  took  the  step  of  flying 
from  her  mother's  court  on  becoming  a  Catholic,  points 
to  a  condition  of  animosity  as  bitter  in  the  opposite 
camp.  Her  brother  Prince  Edward  had,  earlier  still, 
abjured  his  Protestantism,  and  when  a  letter  was  subse- 
quently discovered  in  which  he  supplied  the  Princess 
with  facilities  for  flight,  his  mother  observed  sardonically 
that  she  had  always  thought  that  the  Devil  and  Prince 
Edward  had  done  it.  That  Louise  sought  and  found  a 
refuge  with  Henrietta  will  not  have  improved  the 
relations  between  the  sisters-in-law. 


CHAPTER    XXIII 

1655 — 1656 

Court  parties — The  Cardinal  and  Henrietta — Family  reconciliations — 
Louis  XIV.  and  Henriette-Anne — The  Princess  Royal's  visit — Dis- 
agreements between  the  Duke  of  York  and  the  King — The  Princess 
and  Henry  Jermyn. 

TRANSACTIONS  of  the  kind  narrated  in  the  last 
chapter  were  not  calculated  to  increase  good  feeling 
amongst  the  rival  factions  into  which  the  Royalists  were 
divided  ;  and  Henrietta's  defeat  had  doubtless  its  effect 
in  embittering  party  spirit.  She  was  not  likely  to  bestow 
an  easy  forgiveness  upon  her  opponents  ;  Lord  Hatton 
anticipated  the  necessity  of  quitting  Paris  ;  and  Radcliffe, 
employed  by  the  King  to  convey  a  letter  to  his  brother, 
was  in  no  less  disfavour.  It  was  natural,  Jermyn  told 
him  when  he  sought  access  to  the  Queen,  that  she  should 
be  offended  with  interlopers  who  meddled  with  things 
that  concerned  them  not,  and  thereby  crossed  her  designs. 
After  which  Radcliffe  grew  very  weary  of  Paris. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  party  hostile  to  the  Palais 
Royal  was  on  the  alert,  a  watchful  eye  being  kept 
in  particular  upon  the  Duke  of  York,  who  remained 
throughout  the  spring  with  his  mother.  It  was 
anxiously  noted  that  the  heir  to  the  throne  was  on 
terms  of  perilous  friendliness  with  Sir  John  Berkeley 
"  and  all  that  tribe,"  and  James'  letters  tend  to  con- 
firm the  impression  that  he  did  not  at  this  time  share 
the    general    distrust    of   the    Queen's  confidants.     It  is 

473 


474  HENRIETTA   MARIA 

to  Jermyn  that  he,  like  his  mother,  refers  Charles  for 
information,  even  when  his  own  position  is  in  question. 
Jermyn,  he  writes  in  one  letter,  will  tell  the  King  his 
business  affairs,  "  so  that  I  need  not  trouble  you  with 
it,  or  the  other  news  of  this  place  ;  only  this,  that  it 
is  so  hot  weather  that  I  have  been  a-swimming  this 
afternoon  and  never  found  the  water  warmer."  And  he 
sends  some  songs  from  the  latest  ballet.  In  the  same 
letter  the  Duke  communicated  the  news  of  a  proposal 
made  to  him  by  certain  Catholics  bound  by  a  solemn  oath 
to  kill  Cromwell.  It  is  possible  that  in  furnishing  his 
brother  with  this  important  piece  of  information,  his 
knowledge  of  Charles'  character  may  have  led  him  to 
doubt  whether  the  latest  novelty  in  ballets  might  not  prove 
a  subject  of  greater  interest  than  the  project  of  murder. 

If  the  Queen  was  finding  more  comfort  than  at 
an  earlier  date  in  the  society  of  her  second  son,  she 
needed  it.  Her  disappointment  with  regard  to  Gloucester 
was  said  to  have  affected  her  health,  and  it  seemed  to 
be  visibly  failing.  Other  matters,  besides  the  Duke's 
recalcitrance,  may  well  have  been  wearing  alike  to  nerves 
and  spirits.  The  negotiations  between  the  French  and 
English  governments  were  believed  to  be  not  unlikely 
to  include  a  stipulation  for  the  expulsion  from  France 
of  all  Royalists,  including  Henrietta,  unless  she  should 
withdraw  into  a  convent.  In  February  Hatton  told 
Nicholas  that  Jermyn  had  been  sent  by  her  to  the 
Cardinal  to  make  inquiries  as  to  the  truth  of  the  rumours 
afloat  ;  adding  that  the  minister  had  been  tc  very  high  and 
loud  "  ;  had  wondered  that  the  Queen  and  her  son  did 
not  perceive  that  his  conduct  was  designed  to  serve  them, 
and  declined  to  make  any  particulars  known.  At  Charles' 
court  it  was  said  that  his  mother  had  given  Mazarin  an 
"  heroic  answer  " — probably  with  regard  to  the  obnoxious 


RECONCILIATION   WITH   CHARLES     475 

treaty  ;  but  though  entertaining  no  doubt  of  her  own 
"  princely  spirit,"  Hatton,  on  the  spot,  was  too  confident 
of  the  strength  of  the  influence  exercised  by  Jermyn,  who 
dared  not  offend  the  Cardinal's  dog,  to  credit  the  report. 

In  one  respect  Henrietta's  horizon  was  brightening. 
The  partial  estrangement  between  herself  and  the  King 
had  added  a  painful  element  to  her  life  during  the  winter 
of    1654-5.     Early    in    January,    however,    Jermyn  was 
writing    to    Charles    that    though  the  Queen   could  not 
yet  forget  the  business  of  the  Duke  of  Gloucester,  he 
hoped    that    a    very  few    days  would  make  her   capable 
of  meeting  the  King's  advances  towards  a  good  under- 
standing ;    and   by  the   15th   he   was  able   to    enclose   a 
letter    from     Henrietta.       Neither    could   in    fact    afford 
to  quarrel.     To  the   Queen,  Charles  was  alike  her  son 
and  her  King  ;  whilst  policy  and  affection  equally  made 
it  important  to  Charles  to  maintain  terms  of  amity  with 
his    mother.       Money    was    scarce,    and    to    an    inquiry 
concerning  the  payment  of  his  pension    by  France,  the 
answer    had    been    made  that  it  would  be  paid  "  so  far 
forth  as  the  Queen  of  England  desired,  and  no  otherwise." 
By  February  a  reconciliation  appears  to  have  been  effected, 
and  Jermyn  was  transmitting  to  the  King  a  suggestion 
that  the  agent  to  be  sent  by  Henrietta  to  the  new  Pope 
on    affairs    of  her    own    should    be    intrusted    with    the 
King's  business,  since  it  would  be  difficult  for    Charles 
to  deal    directly  v/ith  Rome.     The  step,  Jermyn  urged, 
would    be    not    only  advantageous  to  his  interests,    but 
would  promote  a  better  understanding  with  his  mother. 

Though  Charles  answered  dubiously,  the  ensuing 
months  were  in  fact  much  occupied  with  the  attempt 
to  induce  the  new  Pope,  Alexander  VII.,  to  supply 
funds  to  render  a  Royalist  enterprise  possible  ;  and  a 
draft  in  Hyde's  hand  stating  Charles'  readiness  to  repeal 


476  HENRIETTA   MARIA 

the  penal  laws  against  Catholics  should  he  be  assisted 
in  the  recovery  of  his  crown  indicates  the  price 
he  was  willing  to  pay  for  financial  support.  The 
negotiations,  like  others  of  the  same  kind,  produced  no 
result.  The  Pope  had  his  own  informants  concerning 
English  affairs,  and  their  reports  did  not  tally  with  those 
furnished  by  Charles'  agents  ;  Cromwell's  power  appeared 
to  him  to  be  too  securely  established  to  be  overthrown, 
and  he  declined  to  contribute  funds  towards  the  attempt. 
Whilst  the  abortive  attempt  at  a  Royalist  rising 
during  this  year  was  productive  of  fresh  disappointment 
at  the  Palais  Royal,  it  will  have  been  in  some  measure 
counterbalanced,  not  only  by  the  terms  of  amity  estab- 
lished between  Henrietta  and  the  King,  but  by  the 
more  friendly  spirit  which  was  replacing  a  coldness  also 
existing  between  the  Queen  and  her  elder  daughter. 
In  June  the  Duke  of  York  was  writing  to  his  sister, 
by  his  mother's  desire,  to  say  that  though  at  present 
too  sick  to  do  so  herself,  the  Princess  should  hear  from 
her  when  she  was  well,  the  Duke  adding,  on  his  own 
account,  that  a  kind  answer  might  be  expected.  "  I 
hope,"  Mary  added,  communicating  this  intelligence  to 
the  King,  "  there  will  be  a  good  understanding  amongst 
us  all,  in  spite  of  all  hot  heads,  which  have  studied 
nothing  but  how  to  make  the  Queen  angry  both  with 
you  and  me."  Sir  Henry  Bennet,  secretary  to  the 
Duke  of  York,  also  congratulated  the  King  upon  the 
fict  that  his  mother's  last  letters  had  been  "  so  kind 
and  obliging,"  adding  his  hopes  that  the  two  would 
both  talk  themselves  into  that  kindness  that  ought  to 
be  between  them.  In  spite  of  frequent  disagreements, 
there  was  no  lack  of  love  amongst  the  members  of  the 
royal  family,  and  Mary,  in  another  letter,  is  found  assuring 
her  eldest  brother  of  her  obedience  in  all  respects,  save 


HENRIETTE— ANNE   AND   LOUIS       477 

in  not  loving  her  boy  (though  her  only  child)  above 
all  things  in  the  world,  so  long  as  the  King  himself 
was  in  it. 

If  Henrietta  was  now  at  peace  with  her  own  children, 
she  was  at  more  than  peace  with  her  nephew,  the  young 
King.  Louis  was,  she  wrote  to  Charles,  so  much  grown 
and  embellished  that  he  could  not  be  more  so  ;  she 
was  quite  in  love  with  him.  He  also  conducted  himself 
towards  her  like  a  different  person,  and  was  become  as 
courteous  as  possible.  It  does  not  appear  whether  this 
unqualified  eulogy  was  pronounced  before  or  after  an 
incident  had  occurred  which  may  have  lessened  to  some 
extent  her  enthusiastic  appreciation  of  the  King's  merits. 
It  was  at  a  certain  small  entertainment  given  by  Anne 
of  Austria  that  the  incident  in  question  took  place. 

On  this  occasion  a  particularly  select  company,  of 
ladies  only,  had  been  gathered  together  to  see  the  King 
dance,  Anne  appearing  in  cap  and  dressing-gown  in  order 
to  emphasise  the  private  nature  of  the  affair.  When 
the  branle  was  to  begin,  the  King,  accustomed  to  pay 
all  honour  to  the  Mancini  sisters,  nieces  of  the  Cardinal, 
had  already  selected  one  of  them  as  his  partner,  when 
his  mother,  indignant  at  the  slight  thereby  offered  to 
the  Princess  Henriette,  rising  abruptly  from  her  seat, 
separated  the  couple,  directing  her  son  in  a  low  voice 
to  offer  his  hand  to  his  cousin.  The  meaning  of  her 
interposition  must  have  been  patent  to  all  present  ;  and 
Henrietta,  watching  her  angry  sister-in-law,  followed  her 
to  beg  that  she  would  put  no  constraint  upon  Louis, 
adding  that  Henriette  had  hurt  her  foot  and  was  unable 
to  dance. 

The  excuse  was  transparent,  and  Anne  put  it  at  once 
aside.  If  Henriette  could  not  dance,  neither,  she  declared, 
should  the  King  ;  and  no  choice  was  left  to  her  cousin  but 


478  HENRIETTA    MARIA 

to  accept  the  partner  thus  forced  upon  him,  although 
remaining  impenitent,  and  replying  sulkily  at  night  to 
the  rebukes  addressed  to  him  by  his  mother  that  he  did 
not  like  little  girls. 

It  is  possible  that  the  young  King,  as  well  as 
others,  attached  a  deeper  significance  to  the  incident 
than  the  mere  exchange  of  one  partner  for  another. 
The  question  of  his  marriage  was  now  becoming  an 
important  one  ;  and  it  was  probably  not  unknown  to 
the  person  chiefly  concerned  that  his  aunt  indulged  the 
dream  that  the  daughter  she  loved  so  well  might  one 
day  reign  as  Queen  in  her  native  land.  His  own 
mother  was  attached  to  the  child  who  had  grown  up 
under  her  eyes,  and  amongst  the  aspirants  to  the  hand 
of  the  best  parti  in  Europe  Henriette  may  have 
seemed  not  the  least  likely  to  be  selected.  The  mis- 
fortune was  that  whilst  Louis  was  sixteen  and  looked 
more,  the  Princess,  at  eleven,  was  still  a  child  ;  and 
that,  after  the  fashion  of  boys  of  his  age,  he  entertained 
a  preference  for  older  women.  At  the  present  time  one 
of  the  Mancini  sisters,  afterwaids  married  to  the  Comte 
de  Soissons,  altogether  eclipsed  in  his  eyes  his  little 
cousin.  So  far,  however,  his  marriage  was  not  a  matter 
of  pressing  urgency  ;  and  Henrietta  may  reasonably 
have  hoped  that  in  two  or  three  years,  should  his  choice 
be  delayed  so  long,  her  daughter  might  have  reached 
an  age  when  she  would  find  favour  in  his  eyes.  That 
time  was  not  to  come  until  too  late  for  matrimonial 
purposes. 

Before  the  year  1655  had  drawn  to  an  end  the  blow 
so  long  dreaded  by  Henrietta  had  fallen.  Peace  had 
been  formally  declared  between  England  and  France, 
and  she  was  looking  on  with  bitterness  at  the  bonfires 
lit   to   celebrate   the   event,   and    taking   to    herself   such 


PRINCESS   ROYAL'S   VISIT  479 

comfort  as  could  be  afforded  by  the  conviction  that 
the  treaty  was  unpopular  with  the  Parisian  public.  She 
had  summoned  the  Duke  of  York  to  Paris,  not  con- 
sidering it  fitting  that  he  should  serve  in  the  army  of 
a  nation  at  peace  with  those  who  had  put  his  father  to 
death,  and  his  future  must  have  furnished  additional 
cause  of  anxiety. 

Early  in  the  new  year  the  Queen  was  cheered  by 
a  visit  from  her  elder  daughter,  the  Princess  Royal. 
Charles  had  been  apprehensive  of  damage  to  the  interests 
of  his  little  nephew,  the  Prince  of  Orange,  as  well 
as  to  his  own,  from  his  sister's  journey  to  Paris,  and 
opinion  both  at  Cologne  and  the  Hague  had  been 
strongly  against  it.  The  Queen  and  her  daughter 
had,  however,  strong  wills,  and  remonstrances  failed  to 
induce  them  to  abandon  the  project.  Henrietta,  for 
her  part,  replied  that  she  was  unable  to  perceive  how 
the  visit  in  question  could  be  more  prejudicial  than 
those  already  paid  by  Mary  to  her  brother  at  Cologne 
and  Spa  ;  and  the  Princess  herself  showed  no  signs  of  an 
inclination  to  defer  to  his  views. 

There  may  have  been  other  reasons,  besides  the 
natural  desire  to  see  her  mother,  contributing  to  keep 
Mary  firm  in  her  determination.  A  conversation  was 
reported  to  have  taken  place  between  the  two  Queen- 
Mothers  which  had  convinced  Henrietta,  "  who  had  the 
art  of  making  herself  believe  anything  she  had  a  mind 
to,"  that  Louis  might  be  inclined  towards  a  marriage  with 
her  elder  daughter  ;  whereupon  she  was  said  to  have 
summoned  the  Princess  to  Paris.  It  will  be  seen  that 
Mademoiselle  credited  her  cousin  with  designs  upon  the 
King.  Whether  or  not  this  was  the  case,  Mary  is  said 
to  have  spared  no  expense  in  preparing  for  her  visit, 
to  have  run  into  debt,  and  even  to   have    sold,   besides 


48o  HENRIETTA    MARIA 

jewels    of  her    own,    estates    she    held    as    guardian    to 
her  son.1 

The  lack  of  deference  to  Charles'  wishes  shown  by  his 
mother  appears  to  have  given  rise  to  some  fears  of 
renewed  estrangement,  and  in  a  letter  addressed  by  Jermyn 
to  the  King  he  did  his  best  to  explain  the  mother  to  the 
son.  "  You  are  not  to  judge,"  he  wrote,  "  of  the  Queen's 
affection,  no  more  by  her  style  than  by  her  words  ;  for 
they  are  both  sometimes  betrayers  of  her  thoughts,  and 
have  sharpness  that  in  her  heart  she  is  not  guilty  of. 
And  I  do  believe  that  you  have  not  only  her  affection 
to  presume  on,  which  can  never  be  shaken,  but  even 
all  the  tenderness  and  kindness  that  can  be  imagined, 
which  I  say  not  to  intrude  myself  into  that,  which 
is  very  unnecessary  between  you,  she  doing  this  office, 
but  because  a  word  in  your  letter  leads  me  to  it." 

A  communication  from  Henrietta  bearing  the  same 
date  as  that  of  Jermyn  was  chiefly  occupied  with  a 
different  matter,  and  one  she  begged  her  son  to  keep 
very  secret.  A  certain  gentleman  and  a  great  mathe- 
matician had  written  to  make  known  to  Charles  what  he 
had  discovered,  by  means  of  occult  art,  as  to  the  King's 
future  fortunes.  Henrietta  had  consented  to  take  charge 
of  this  paper  and  to  forward  it  to  her  son,  adding  that 
many  of  the  prophecies  of  the  seer  had  already  been 
fulfilled.  "Although  one  cannot  place  much  reliance  on 
things  of  the  kind,"  added  the  Queen,  "one  nevertheless 
allows  oneself  easily  to  believe  what  one  desires.  I  pray 
God  he  may  be  a  true  prophet." 

More  consoling  than  the  forecasts  of  the  soothsayer 
will  have  been  the  prospect  of  renewed  intercourse  with 
the  daughter  from  whom  she  had  been  so  long  parted. 

1  Earl  of  Dartmouth's  notes  to  Bishop  Burnet's  History  of  His  Own 
Times. 


PRINCESS   ROYAL'S   VISIT  481 

On  January  17th,  in  spite  of  disapproval  and  remon- 
strance, Mary  set  forth  on  her  journey.  "  I  see,"  wrote 
an  adverse  critic  from  the  Hague,  "  that  all  they  who 
dislike  the  King's  present  proceedings  are  much  pleased 
with  it,  desiring  (it  seems)  he  may  be  disappointed  in 
his  counsels." 

Mademoiselle,  looking  on  with  envious  eyes  from 
her  place  of  banishment,  described  the  magnificent  equipage, 
dress,  and  jewels  it  had  cost  Mary  so  much  to  prepare. 
All  the  world,  she  added,  said  that  she  came  with  the 
design  of  dazzling  the  King  ;  and  it  was  believed  that 
the  Queen  would  not  regret  it ;  and  that,  should  she  find 
favour  with  them,  she  would  soon  become  a  Catholic. 

If  Mary  had  indulged  the  hopes  ascribed  to  her — 
and  few,  especially  amongst  the  King's  cousins,  were  not 
credited  with  designs  upon  his  hand — they  were  not 
destined  to  find  fulfilment  ;  and  Mademoiselle  records 
with  satisfaction  the  absence  of  any  special  attentions 
paid  by  Louis  to  the  guest.  <c  I  believe,"  she  wrote, 
"  he  did  not  so  much  as  speak  to  her."  In  all  other 
respects  Mary's  reception  can  scarcely  have  fallen  short  of 
any  expectations  she  had  formed.  Louis  and  his  mother 
met  her  a  league  from  the  city.  Her  brother  James  had 
already  joined  her  at  Perron,  accompanied  by  a  repre- 
sentative of  the  King,  who,  according  to  her  own  account 
of  the  matter,  would  have  done  her  that  honour  in 
person,  had  not  her  mother  represented  the  visit  as  paid 
to  herself  alone.  The  Queen-Mother  did  all  that  was 
possible  for  the  guest,  giving  frequent  private  entertain- 
ments, since  the  Princess  was  precluded  by  her  weeds 
from  attending  those  of  a  more  public  character  ;  and 
balls  took  place  every  night.  At  one  of  these,  given 
by  Monsieur  and  of  a  particularly  brilliant  description, 
Henriette-Anne  enjoyed  a  special  success,  being  described 


482  HENRIETTA   MARIA 

by  the  court  versifier  as  like  an  angel  on  earth,  and 
leading  the  Most  Christian  King — on  this  occasion 
resigning  himself  to  accept  his  cousin  as  a  partner — 
with  so  good  a  grace  that  all  were  as  much  charmed 
with  the  King  as  with  the   Mignonne. 

Paris  had  done  its  best  in  the  way  of  welcome  ;  and 
it  is  easy  to  detect,  through  her  complaints  of  fatigue, 
Henrietta's  satisfaction.  His  sister,  she  wrote  to  Charles, 
had  been  royally  received,  and  had  pleased  every  one, 
from  the  greatest  to  the  least.  "  I  believe  she  is  very 
weary  of  visits.  They  are  paid  her  from  morning  till 
night.  For  my  part,  I  am  nearly  dead  with  them.  But 
you,  who  are  acquainted  with  France,  know  well  enough 
that,  after  the  beginning,  one  enjoys  sufficient  repose. 
That  is  my  hope."  Jermyn  added  his  report.  The 
Princess,  he  said,  was  well  able  to  hold  her  place. 
She  had  also  shown  herself  anxious  to  do  what  in  her 
lay  to  render  the  confidence  between  her  mother  and 
brother  entire.  For  Jermyn's  part,  should  it  fall  to 
his  lot  to  be  of  service  in  that  matter,  it  would  be 
the  greatest  happiness  that  could  befall  him. 

Mary's  own  letter  to  the  Dutch  minister  betrays  a 
pardonable  pride  in  the  welcome  accorded  her.  She 
had  been  so  overwhelmed  with  visits  that  she  had  had 
no  time  to  write.  Never  in  her  life  had  she  received 
so  much  civility.  Her  mother  treated  her  with  all  the 
friendship  and  care  imaginable — more  than  she  deserved  ; 
but  they  had  never  yet  been  able  to  converse  quite  alone 
for  want  of  time.  Details  of  expenses  followed.  She 
bought  her  own  wood  and  candles,  and  Jermyn  desired 
that  the  servants  should  not  eat  in  the  house,  so  that 
an  allowance  had  to  be  made  them.  And  she  was  sure 
her  money  would  not  be  sufficient — which  was  more 
than  probable. 


THE   PRINCESS   ROYAL'S   VISIT         483 

It  was  well  that,  whilst  Henrietta  enjoyed  the 
diversion  from  the  monotony  of  alternating  hopes  and 
fears  afforded  by  her  daughter's  visit,  she  entertained 
no  suspicion  of  one  most  unwelcome  consequence  to 
result  from  it.  Amongst  the  ladies  brought  by  Mary 
in  her  train  was  Anne  Hyde,  and  it  was  during  this 
visit  that  the  intimacy  was  inaugurated  between  James 
Duke  of  York  and  his  sister's  lady-in-waiting,  which 
ended,   four  years  later,  in  marriage. 

It  was  not  the  Chancellor's  fault  that  his  daughter 
had  accompanied  her  mistress  to  Paris.  When  first  the 
journey  had  been  in  contemplation,  he  had  written  to 
Lady  Stanhope,  wife  of  Heenvliet,  the  Dutch  minister, 
to  deprecate  the  intention  he  anticipated  on  the  part  of 
the  Princess  to  take  Anne  to  France.  That  the  Princess 
Royal  had  received  her  into  her  service  was,  he  wrote, 
said  to  have  been  a  chief  cause  of  the  Queen's  displeasure 
with  her  daughter,  and  any  display  of  special  favour  to- 
wards her  would  only  have  the  result  of  increasing  the 
Queen's  dislike  for  himself.  The  protest  was  reasonable, 
but  took  no  effect ;  and  when  Mary  reached  Paris, 
Anne  was  in  her  train.  The  Duke  of  York  was  like- 
wise in  Paris,  and  though  treated  with  small  consideration 
and  warned  that  he  would  shortly  be  compelled,  in 
consequence  of  pressure  from  England,  to  go  elsewhere, 
he  lingered  on.  The  Princess  had  reason  four  years 
later  to  regret  that  she  had  not  deferred  to  the  Chan- 
cellor's wishes  and  left  his  daughter  in  Holland. 

Mary  was  in  no  haste  to  be  gone.  It  was  true 
that,  accordmg  to  Lord  Hatton,  the  Queen's  predic- 
tion had  found  speedy  fulfilment,  and  when  no  longer 
a  novelty  she  had  small  cause  to  complain  of  overmuch 
attention.  She  had,  he  said,  shown  her  admirable  good 
nature  in  remaining  where  she  was  treated  with  so  little 
vol.  n.  12 


484  HENRIETTA    MARIA 

respect.  If  report  is  to  be  believed,  the  Princess  Royal, 
like  her  brother,  may  have  had  reasons  of  her  own  for 
condoning  the  want  of  consideration  displayed  towards 
her.  It  is  said  that  she  was  carrying  on  a  love-affair 
with  young  Harry  Jermyn,  nephew  and  heir  to  her 
mother's  favourite  ;  and  it  was  afterwards  alleged,  as  an 
explanation  of  the  singular  favour  shown  him  by  her  son 
in  later  days,  that  she  had  married  him  secretly.  The 
report  was  certainly  current  at  Paris,  since  Mademoiselle 
casually  mentions  that  it  was  said  that  her  cousin  had 
wedded  "  le  petit  Germain,"  and  it  will  be  seen  that, 
later  on,  Charles  felt  called  upon  to  take  steps  to  prevent 
his  sister  from  giving  colour  to  the  scandal. 

Whatever  may  have  been  the  facts  giving  rise  to 
this  story,  life  in  Paris  must  have  had  much  to  re- 
commend it,  and  the  guest  showed  no  eagerness  to 
return  to  her  maternal  duties  in  Holland.  Amongst 
the  relations  to  whom  she  was  now  introduced  for  the 
first  time  was  her  cousin,  Mademoiselle.  It  was  not 
until  the  following  year  that  the  six  years'  penance  with 
which  the  heroine  of  the  Fronde  had  expiated  her  mis- 
deeds came  to  an  end,  and  she  was  re-admitted  to  court. 
But,  precluded  from  approaching  it  nearer,  she  was 
hovering  round  the  environs  of  Paris,  and  receiving 
visits  from  such  of  her  friends  as  remained  faithful  to 
her  in  her  disgrace.  It  was  at  Corbeil  that  she  received 
an  intimation  from  Henrietta  that,  if  she  would  fix  a 
place  and  time  for  the  meeting,  the  Princess  of  Orange 
should  be  brought  to  make  her  acquaintance,  an  attention 
more  appreciated  by  Mademoiselle  in  her  banishment  than 
it  would  have  been  at  an  earlier  date. 

The  meeting  took  place  at  Chilly,  marked  by  much 
cordiality  on  both  sides.  Henrietta  arrived  accompanied 
by  her  two  daughters,  as  well  as  by  the  Duke  of  York 


THE   PRINCESS   AND    MADEMOISELLE     485 

and  a  numerous  train  of  attendants.  Mademoiselle 
records  with  pride  that  all  the  princesses  and  duchesses 
then  in  Paris  had  repaired  to  Chilly  to  do  honour  to  the 
occasion,  and  all  went  well. 

"  I  here  present  to  you  a  person  who  has  had  a  great 
desire  to  see  you,"  said  the  Queen,  as  she  introduced 
her  daughter  ;  and  Mary  kissed  her  cousin  with  much 
affection,  "  for  some  one  I  had  never  seen." 

A  banquet  followed  ;  after  which,  seated  on  a  couch, 
Henrietta  held  a  species  of  court,  whilst  the  Princess 
Royal  made  up  for  lost  time  in  cementing  a  friendship 
with  her  hostess.  She  had  heard  so  much  of  Mademoiselle, 
she  told  her,  from  her  brother  the  King,  that,  without 
knowing  her,  she  already  loved  her.  She  expressed  her 
liking  for  France,  adding  somewhat  imprudently  that 
such  was  her  aversion  for  Holland  that  as  soon  as  Charles 
should  enjoy  his  own  again  she  intended  to  make  her 
home  with  him  in  England.  After  this,  it  was  scarcely 
to  be  wondered  at  that  Henrietta  told  her  niece  that  she 
had  never  seen  the  Princess  talk  so  much  since  she  had 
come  to  Paris.  The  Queen  also  pointed  out  that  her 
daughter  was  arrayed  most  correctly  in  widow's  weeds,  in 
deference  to  her  mother's  desire  that  her  first  visit  should 
be  ceremonious — reguliere.  If  it  had  been  owing  to 
Henrietta  that  Mary  had  donned  her  black  gown  and 
fommette,  she  had  indemnified  herself  for  her  sombre 
apparel  by  the  magnificence  of  her  ornaments.  Her 
pearl  earrings,  her  diamond  bracelets,  and  her  rings 
won  Mademoiselle's  admiration.  The  Queen  adverted 
to  the  display  with  less  approval,  aware,  no  doubt,  of 
all  it  had  cost. 

"  My  daughter  is  not  like  me,"  she  observed.  "She 
is  magnificent;  she  has  money  and  jewels;  she  loves 
spending.       I    tell    her   every    day    that    she    should    be 


486  HENRIETTA    MARIA 

menagere — that  I  was  once  in  her  condition,  and  even 
more  so,  and  she  sees  my  present  state." 

Having  done  her  duty  by  the  company,  the  Queen 
made  her  excuses  and  retired  to  converse  with  her  niece 
in  greater  privacy.  Her  visit  had  probably  had  another 
object  besides  the  introduction  of  her  daughter,  and 
she  was  desirous  of  keeping  alive  her  niece's  interest 
in  the  King.  After  showing  her  sympathy  "in  the 
tenderest  manner  "  for  Mademoiselle's  condition  of  banish- 
ment, she  broached  the  subject  nearer  to  her  heart. 

"  And  that  poor  King  of  England,"  she  said.  "  You 
are  so  ungrateful  that  you  ask  no  news  of  him  ? ' 

"  It  is  for  me  to  listen  when  your  Majesty  speaks," 
answered  Mademoiselle  with  unusual  humility,  "and 
not  to  question  you.  Also,  I  was  about  to  await  an 
opportunity  of  asking  for  tidings." 

"  Alas  !  "  replied  the  Queen,  "  he  is  foolish  enough 
to  love  you  still.  When  he  departed  he  begged  me  to 
make  known  to  you  that  he  was  in  despair  at  quitting 
France  without  bidding  you  farewell.  I  would  not  send 
you  word  of  it,  lest  I  should  make  you  too  vain.  When 
I  see  you,  I  cannot  adhere  to  these  good  resolutions. 
Reflect  that,  had  you  wedded  him,  you  would  not  now 
be  in  your  present  condition  with  regard  to  your  father  " 
— the  Duke  and  his  daughter  had  quarrelled — "  that  you 
would  be  your  own  mistress,  would  make  use  of  whom 
it  should  please  you  to  employ,  and  would  have  been 
perhaps  settled  in  England.  I  am  persuaded  that  the  poor 
wretch  will  know  no  happiness  apart  from  you.  Had 
you  married  him,  he  and  I  would  have  been  on  better 
terms.  You  would  have  contributed  to  make  him  live 
at  peace  with  me." 

Mademoiselle  demurred  at  this  assumption. 

"  Since  he  does  not  live  on  good   terms   with  your 


QUARREL  BETWEEN  KING  AND  JAMES    487 

Majesty,"  she  asked,  "  why  is  it  to  be  believed  that  he 
would  do  so  with  another?" 

Henrietta's  answer  seems  to  have  been  a  vague  ex- 
pression of  the  affection  she  cherished,  in  spite  of  his 
delinquencies,  for  the  King  ;  and,  the  explanation  over, 
she  shortly  after  took  her  leave,  not  without  fresh 
demonstrations  of  cordiality  on  the  part  of  the  Princess 
Royal,  who  held  out  hopes  that  she  might  effect  another 
meeting  with  her  exiled  cousin  before  her  departure  from 
Paris.  In  spite  of  disfavour  at  court,  Mademoiselle  was 
still  a  power  to  be  reckoned  with  and  conciliated. 

Thus  the  months  passed  away,  till  in  November 
Mary  brought  her  visit  to  a  close  and  left  Paris  for 
Bruges,  where  the  King  was  now  resident.  She  had 
been  preceded  to  the  Flemish  town  by  the  Duke  of 
York,  and  the  four  visible  hopes  of  England,  as  they  are 
termed  by  Hyde,  were  thus  gathered  together,  Henriette- 
Anne  being  the  only  one  of  Charles  I.'s  children  wanting. 

The  reunion  of  the  four  visible  hopes  was  not 
attended  with  peace  and  amity.  Henrietta  reported  to 
her  sister  at  the  end  of  January  that  she  was  in  fresh 
trouble,  the  Duke  of  York  having  taken  offence  and 
quitted  his  brother,  to  retire  into  Holland.  She  added 
that  she  was  labouring  to  restore  peace  between  her  sons 
and  to  induce  the  Duke  to  return  to  Bruges. 

The  fact  was  that  James  had  arrived  at  his  brother's 
court,  accompanied  not  only  by  "  le  petit  Germain,"  who, 
as  nephew  to  Henrietta's  favourite,  was  unlikely  to  find 
a  welcome  there,  but  by  Sir  John  Berkeley,  also  con- 
nected with  Jermyn,  and  in  bad  repute  with  Charles  and 
his  counsellors.  When  it  is  remembered  that  Hyde  had 
successfully  interposed,  as  the  friend  of  both,  to  prevent 
a  marriage  between  Lady  Morton,  Henriette's  gouvernante, 
and  Berkeley,  it  will  be  seen  that  private  grudges  will 


488  HENRIETTA    MARIA 

have  embittered  the  relations  of  the  rival  parties.  Sir 
John's  reception  was  of  the  coldest ;  doubts  were  thrown 
upon  the  Duke's  right  to  select  the  members  of  his  own 
household,  and  it  was  finally  intimated  to  Berkeley  by 
Digby,  now  Earl  of  Bristol,  that  he  would  do  well  to 
depart,  since  the  King  would  probably  insult  him  if  he 
did  not  take  that  step. 

Such  was  the  account  sent  to  Holland  by  the  Princess 
Royal,  who  had,  on  her  arrival  from  Paris,  entered  with 
zest  into  the  quarrel  and  taken  part  strongly  with  her 
younger  brother.  She  herself  was  treated,  she  said,  as 
if  she  had  the  plague,  and  poor  Sir  John  Berkeley  was 
leaving.  Three  days  later  she  was  writing  that  the  Duke 
had  departed,  no  one  knew  whither — he  had,  in  fact, 
gone  to  join  his  friend  on  a  pre-arranged  plan,  taking 
with  him  Harry  Jermyn — and  she  entreated  that  an 
urgent  summons,  worded  for  her  brother's  eyes,  might 
be  sent  to  her  from  Holland.  There  was  not  a  single 
person  in  Bruges  to  whom  she  could  speak  freely. 
After  this  outburst  it  is  surprising  to  find  that  it  was 
not  until  February  that,  in  response  to  a  genuine  demand 
for  her  presence,  she  left  Bruges.  Negotiations  had 
been  set  on  foot  between  her  two  brothers  which  she 
was  anxious  to  see  concluded  ;  and  in  the  end  the  Duke 
was  permitted  to  retain  Berkeley's  services — the  King's 
dignity  being  saved  by  the  delay  of  a  month  in  his 
return  to  Bruges — and  a  peerage  was  further  bestowed 
upon  the  object  of  the  general  distrust.  The  Duke  of 
York's  display  of  independence  had  taken  effect. 

In  spite  of  the  efforts  Henrietta  represented  herself 
as  making  to  restore  peace  between  the  brothers,  she 
seems  to  have  espoused  her  younger  son's  cause  with 
as  much  warmth  as  the  Princess  Royal,  and  in  as  belli- 
gerent   a    spirit.      Passing    through     Paris    on    his    way 


THE   PRINCESS   OF   ORANGE  489 

0 

to  Madrid,  Sir  Henry  Bennet,  formerly  in  the  Duke's 
service  and  now  employed  by  the  King,  called  at  the 
Palais  Royal  to  deliver  a  letter  from  Charles,  and  wrote 
to  give  Hyde  a  description  of  his  reception  there.  The 
Queen  had  said  she  had  no  commands  for  him ;  that 
he  would  do  well  to  make  the  least  stay  in  the  house 
that  he  could ;  and  that,  the  Duke  being  displeased  with 
him,  had  it  not  been  for  the  letter  of  which  he  was  the 
bearer  she  would  not  have  consented  to  see  him  at  all. 
Jermyn  asked  him  coldly  to  dinner,  but  did  not  dispute 
the  point  when  he  said  that,  after  what  the  Queen 
had  said,  he  did  not  think  he  could  safely  accept  the 
invitation.  After  which  discouraging  interview  the 
messenger  took  his  leave. 

It  must  be  confessed  that  Charles  had  no  easy  task 
in  regulating  the  affairs  of  his  brothers  and  sisters,  and 
Mary  herself  was  causing  him  no  slight  anxiety  about 
this  time.  It  has  been  seen  that  Harry  Jermyn  had 
been  one  of  the  Duke  of  York's  companions,  and  it 
may  have  been  partly  this  fact  that  had  ranged  his  sister 
so  vehemently  on  James'  side.  At  any  rate,  it  was  not 
long  before  the  reports  concerning  the  Princess's  relations 
with  Lord  Jermyn's  heir  had  become  so  injurious  that 
the  King  took  the  step  of  demanding  that  the  young 
man  should  leave  her  vicinity  and  present  himself  at 
his  own  court. 

Mary  had  not  reached  the  point  of  resistance  to 
her  brother's  express  orders,  and  Jermyn  was  promptly 
despatched  to  join  him.  She,  however,  wrote  to  say 
that  she  trusted  that,  the  King  having  been  obeyed, 
he  would  permit  the  Duke  to  recall  his  servant,  since 
Jermyn's  absence  would  be  less  effective  than  his  presence 
in  putting  an  end  to  any  stories  that  might  be  afloat. 
The  reasoning  does  not  appear  conclusive  ;  but,  having 


490  HENRIETTA   MARIA 

vindicated  his  authority,  Charles  reluctantly  yielded,  and 
permitted  Harry  Jermyn  to  go.  The  affair  was  not 
even  yet  at  an  end.  More  than  one  interview  took 
place  between  brother  and  sister  with  regard  to  what 
Charles  termed  "  this  unhappy  business  "  ;  and  the  King 
was  heard  to  exclaim  that  he  thought  Lord  Jermyn  and 
his  family  were  destined  to  be  his  ruin. 


CHAPTER    XXIV 

1657 — 1660 

Treaty  with  Spain — Henrietta's  appeal  to  Cromwell— Her  dependent  con- 
dition— Death  of  Cromwell — Question  of  Louis'  marriage — Charles 
at  Fontarabia — And  at  Colombes — Royalist  chances — Reresby  at 
court — Charles'  improving  prospects — The  Restoration — Henriette- 
Anne  and  the  Due  d'Orleans — The  Queen  and  Mademoiselle. 

^T  OTWITHSTANDING  the  settlement  of  the  dis- 
\  putes  between  the  King  and  his  brother,  the 
Duke  of  York  was  probably  not  sorry  to  leave  Charles' 
court  and  to  resume  his  own  trade  of  soldiering,  to  be 
carried  on  under  the  Spanish  instead  of  the  French  flag. 

Recent  negotiations  with  Spain  had  resulted  in  a 
treaty  between  Charles  and  the  Spanish  Government 
which,  of  small  intrinsic  importance,  may  have  seemed, 
to  Royalist  eyes,  a  presage  of  better  things.  Although 
Spain  was  bound  to  scarcely  more  than  a  vague  promise 
of  future  assistance  should  the  occasion  for  it  present 
itself,  the  alliance  was  dwelt  upon  with  satisfaction.  In 
the  case  of  a  king  concerning  whom,  in  Clarendon's 
words,  all  the  princes  of  Europe  had  seemed  to  contend 
amongst  themselves  who  should  most  eminently  forget 
and  neglect  him,  the  mere  recognition  of  his  existence 
may  have  been  cheering. 

The  new  treaty  must  have  produced  complications 
at  Paris.  If  the  alliance  between  the  exiled  King  and 
a  power  at  war  with  themselves  had  the  advantage,  in 
the  eyes  of  the  French  authorities,  of  shifting  the  burden 

491 


492  HENRIETTA   MARIA 

of  Charles'  support  from  France  to  Spain,  it  had  other 
results  regarded  with  less  favour,  a  large  number  of 
Irish  soldiers  serving  in  the  French  army  under  Ormond's 
nephew,  Lord  Muskerry,  having  followed  the  example 
of  their  commander  and  transferred  their  services  to 
Charles'  new  ally.  The  further  fact  that  Henrietta's 
two  younger  sons  were  taking  a  personal  part  in  the 
war  in  Flanders,  must  have  been  also  calculated  to  give 
rise  to  discomfort  in  her  relations  with  the  court  of 
which  she  was  still  a  pensioner.  On  June  13th  the 
battle  of  the  Dunes  was  fought,  when  Englishmen  were 
opposed  to  Englishmen  and  French  to  French,  and 
Spain,  reinforced  by  Conde  and  the  English  Royalists, 
was  defeated  by  Turenne  and  Cromwell's  Ironsides.  The 
surrender  of  Dunkirk  followed,  and  before  the  end  of 
the  month  the  town  was  in   Cromwell's  hands. 

Giving  an  account  to  Charles  of  the  fears  she  had 
entertained  for  his  brother's  safety,  Henrietta  touched 
on  the  difficulties  of  her  own  position.  "  I  pass  my 
time  very  ill  here,"  she  wrote,  "  seeing  all  that  is  taking 
place.  You  cannot  fail  to  judge  that  I  myself  must 
suffer  greatly.  I  hope  that  God  will  at  last  put  an  end 
to  our  misfortunes,  and  will  re-establish  you,  and  give 
me  strength  enough  to  witness  that  happy  day."  That 
they  might  be  all  together  was  her  daily  prayer. 

During  the  summer  and  autumn  of  1657  Henrietta 
seems  to  have  been  unusually  suffering.  Writing  to  her 
sister  in  June,  she  excused  herself  for  silence  on  account 
of  illness,  adding  that  she  had  had  herself  carried  to 
Chaillot,  but  had  been  no  better  for  the  change.  In 
September  Loret  records  that  she  had  gone  to  Bourbon 
"  with  the  young  princess,  whose  beauty  shone  at  her  side 
like  a  guardian  angel "  ;  and  a  month  later  he  registers 
her  return,  again  accompanied  by  "cette  princesse  angelique 


HENRIETTA'S  APPEAL  TO    CROMWELL    493 

> 

qui  ne  la  quitte  presque  pas."  On  this  occasion  the 
waters  had  failed  to  produce  their  customary  effect,  and 
she  wrote  to  her  sister  from  Paris  that  she  was  wearied 
with  the  journey  and  still  ill. 

Some  time  before  this  Henrietta  had  taken  a  step 
to  which  she  must  have  been  driven  by  the  stress  of 
necessity  alone.  In  the  hope  of  securing  a  position 
of  greater  independence  than  was  possible  whilst  she 
depended  for  subsistence  upon  the  bounty  of  the 
French  government,  she  had  made  an  application 
through  the  Cardinal  to  his  new  English  allies  for  the 
payment  of  the  dower  due  to  her  as  Queen  of  England. 
As  might  have  been  expected,  the  demand  was  made 
in  vain.  The  money  may  have  been  hers  by  right  ;  but  it 
is  scarcely  to  be  wondered  at  that  Cromwell  should  have 
declined  to  provide  funds  of  which,  as  he  must  have 
been  aware,  every  penny  that  could  be  spared  would 
go  to  furnish  his  enemies  with  supplies.  His  refusal, 
however,  was  couched  in  terms  of  gratuitous  insult. 
Based  upon  the  fact  that  Henrietta's  childish  bigotry  had 
caused  her  to  decline  to  be  crowned,  the  answer  returned 
to  the  Cardinal  was  to  the  effect  that,  having  never  been 
recognised  as  Queen  of  England,  she  was  not  entitled 
to  what  might  otherwise  have  been  her  due. 

Henrietta  showed  not  a  little  dignity  in  her  reception 
of  this  message,  delivered  to  her  by  the  Cardinal  in  person. 
It  was  not,  she  said,  so  much  for  her  to  resent  the 
outrage  contained  in  it  as  for  King  Louis,  who  ought 
not  to  suffer  the  implied  affront  to  be  offered  to  a 
daughter  of  France.  For  her  part,  the  recognition  of 
her  position  by  her  lord  the  King  and  all  England 
sufficed  for  her  satisfaction,  and  the  insult  was  shameful 
rather  to  France  than  to  herself. 

If  it   is    matter    of    regret   that    the    Queen    should 


494  HENRIETTA    MARIA 

have  made  the  petition  to  a  man  she  hated  and  despised, 
she  was  not  without  excuse.  The  bread  of  charity  is 
proverbially  bitter  ;  and  though  her  sister-in-law  never 
failed  in  generosity  and  openhandedness,  others  displayed 
less  of  these  qualities.  "  Would  she  not  have  been 
right  if  she  had  done  so  ? "  asked  Monsieur,  the 
King's  brother,  hotly,  when  an  alleged  attempt  on 
Mademoiselle's  part  to  take  precedence  of  Princess 
Henriette-Anne  was  in  question.  "  Why  should  these 
people,  to  whom  we  give  bread,  pass  before  us  ?  Why 
do  not  they  take  themselves  elsewhere  ?  ':  When  the 
lad's  sneer  was  reported  to  Henrietta,  she  shed  tears. 
It  was  true  that  his  mother  had  sharply  rebuked 
him.  "  You  being  what  you  are,  and  they  what  they 
are,  it  well  becomes  you  to  speak  thus  !  "  she  had  told 
her  son.  But  the  exiled  Queen  knew  that  her  nephew 
had  done  no  more  than  give  expression  to  the  senti- 
ments of  many  who  were  silent. 

Mademoiselle,  the  immediate  cause  of  the  scene,  could 
afford  to  be  magnanimous.  She  had  by  this  time  regained 
her  old  footing  at  court,  and  having  relinquished  her 
hope  of  obtaining  the  hand  of  the  King,  was  not  unwilling 
to  see  in  her  young  partisan,  Anjou,  a  possible  substitute. 
Though  admitting  that  under  other  circumstances  she 
might  have  contested  the  point  at  issue — in  which  it 
appears  she  would  have  had  Mazarin's  support — she  was 
disinclined  to  enter  at  the  present  moment  upon  a  quarrel 
with  her  aunt.  Remembering,  perhaps,  that  Henrietta 
had  shown  herself  her  friend  during  the  period  of  her 
disgrace,  she  went  so  far  as  to  obtain  permission  to 
withdraw  from  court  on  the  occasions  when  the  am- 
bassador from  Westminster  was  to  be  received  there  ; 
and  when  the  news  that  Cromwell  had  passed  away  came 
as    a  prophecy    of  better    things,   she    rejoiced  that    the 


CROMWELL'S   DEATH  495 

coincidence  of  this  event  with  the  death  of  an  infant 
prince  of  the  blood  had  saved  the  French  court  from 
the  disgrace  of  wearing  mourning  for  the  Lord  Protector, 
adding  that  she  would  have  done  so  only  by  the  King's 
express  command. 

It  was  on  September  3rd,  1658,  that  Oliver  Cromwell 
was  removed  from  his  place  at  the  helm,  and  at  the 
news  Royalist  hopes,  as  was  natural,  rose  high.  But 
reiterated  disappointment  had  done  its  work,  and  dis- 
couragement is  apparent  in  Henrietta's  letter  acknow- 
ledging the  congratulations  of  Madame  de  Motteville. 
"  I  thought,"  she  wrote,  "  that  you  would  be  glad 
of  the  death  of  that  scoundrel.  I  will  tell  you  that 
I  know  not  whether  it  is  that  my  heart  is  so  wrapped 
about  by  melancholy  that  it  is  incapable  of  joy,  or  that 
I  see  no  great  advantage  likely  to  result  from  it  ;  but 
I  have  not  rejoiced  very  greatly  ;  and  my  chief  pleasure 
is  to  perceive  the  joy  of  all  my  friends." 

To  her  sister,  whether  from  policy  or  because  events 
appeared  to  her  to  promise  more  than  she  had  anticipated 
when  the  news  first  reached  her,  she  wrote  in  October 
in  better  spirits.  Cromwell's  death,  she  said,  was  a 
beginning  upon  which  hopes  for  the  future  might  be 
grounded.  No  change  could  take  place  in  England 
without  presenting  opportunities  for  action,  and  she  had 
children  who  would  not  allow  occasions  to  slip. 

If  the  autumn  was  favourable  to  Royalist  hopes,  it 
saw  the  downfall  of  certain  others  indulged  by  Henrietta 
with  regard  to  the  future  of  her  youngest  and  best- 
loved  child.  The  question  of  Louis'  marriage  was  be- 
coming one  of  increasing  importance.  His  dangerous 
illness  in  the  summer  must  have  brought  home  to  the 
Cardinal  and  others  the  fact  that  his  life  alone  stood 
between  his  brother  and  the  throne,  and  there  can  have 


496  HENRIETTA    MARIA 

been  few  with  the  welfare  of  France  at  heart  who  would 
have  desired  to  see  Philippe  king.  The  aspirants  to 
Louis'  hand  were  many.  If  Mademoiselle  had  with- 
drawn her  claims,  her  younger  half-sister  was  considered 
by  some  to  be  a  fitting  bride.  His  mother  was  avowedly 
anxious  that  peace  should  be  concluded  with  Spain, 
and  that  the  King  should  give  her  as  daughter-in-law  her 
own  niece,  the  Infanta.  Should  that  project  prove 
impracticable,  she  would  not  have  been  averse  to  his 
marriage  with  Henriette-Anne.  But  besides  the  King's 
distaste  for  the  match,  the  Cardinal  displayed  a  marked 
preference  for  an  alliance  with  the  house  of  Savoy,  with 
which  he  had  already  connected  himself  by  the  marriage 
of  a  niece.  Marguerite,  sister  to  the  present  Duke 
and  the  daughter  of  Madame  Royale,  was  the  bride 
backed  by  the  ministerial  interest — an  interest  powerful 
enough  to  outweigh  that  of  the  Queen-Mother  ;  whilst 
Louis  was  so  eager  to  be  married  that  he  was  not  dis- 
posed to  be  over-critical  as  to  the  wife  proposed  for 
his  acceptance.  In  the  later  autumn  a  journey  to 
Lyons  was  accordingly  to  be  made,  when  a  meeting 
was  to  take  place  between  the  courts  of  France  and 
of  Savoy,  and  Louis  to  be  given  an  opportunity  of 
making  acquaintance  with  his  cousin.  Should  she  find 
favour  in  his  eyes  the  marriage  was  to  be  definitely 
arranged. 

All  pointed  towards  the  realisation  of  the  scheme,  and, 
in  spite  of  Henrietta's  affection  for  her  sister,  it  would 
have  been  a  bitter  mortification  to  see  a  niece,  inferior 
both  in  birth  and  beauty,  preferred  to  her  child.  This 
mortification  she  was  not  to  suffer.  The  history  of 
the  collapse  of  the  project  has  been  detailed  at  length 
in  the  memoirs  of  the  time.  All  had  at  first  promised 
well.     In  spite  of  Marguerite's  lack  of  beauty,  Louis,  on 


QUESTION   OF   LOUIS'    MARRIAGE     497 

their  first  meeting,  had  declared  her  much  to  his  taste, 
and  the  Queen-Mother  was  reluctantly  resigning  herself 
to  the  inevitable,  when  the  sudden  appearance  upon  the 
scene  of  an  envoy  from  Spain,  charged  with  instructions 
to  facilitate  the  realisations  of  Anne's  dream  of  a  Spanish 
alliance,  changed  in  a  moment  the  face  of  affairs.  When 
the  Infanta  was  to  be  had,  it  was  recognised  on  all  hands 
that  Marguerite  of  Savoy  must  give  way  ;  and  the  courts 
separated,  the  discarded  bride,  in  contrast  to  her  mother, 
accepting  her  disappointment  with  a  dignity  commanding 
the  respect  of  all  the  curious  observers.  When  the  fare- 
wells were  over,  freedom  of  speech  was  restored.  The 
Queen-Mother,  according  to  Mademoiselle,  gave  open 
vent  to  her  relief.  She  was  glad  to  be  rid  of  all  the 
Savoyard  train,  derided  the  Duchess's  tears,  and  declared 
her  to  be  the  greatest  comedian  in  the  world.  On  the 
other  hand,  Marguerite's  brother,  the  Duke,  was  reported 
— he  denied  the  report — to  have  congratulated  himself 
upon  having  seen  Mademoiselle,  since  he  had  thereby 
been  cured  of  the  wish  he  had  cherished  of  making  her 
his  wife  ;  and  King  Louis  himself  was  free  to  return  for 
the  present  to  his  allegiance  to  Marie  de  Mancini. 

To  Henrietta  the  downfall  of  the  marriage  scheme 
will  have  been  matter  of  unmixed  rejoicing.  If  it  was 
clear  that  her  daughter  was  not  destined  to  be  Queen 
of  France,  to  cede  to  the  Infanta  was  very  different  from 
giving  place  to  the  sister  of  the  Duke  of  Savoy,  and 
she  will  have  offered  a  special  welcome  to  the  court  on 
its  return  to   Paris. 

The  exhilaration  felt  by  the  Royalist  party  when  it 
had  become  known  that  the  great  spirit  of  their  most 
powerful  opponent  had  passed  away  had,  meantime,  been 
succeeded  by  disappointment  and  discouragement.  The 
uncontested  accession  of  Richard  Cromwell  had  seemed 


498  HENRIETTA    MARIA 

to  put  an  end  to  the  expectation  of  any  immediate 
amelioration  of  the  King's  fortunes  ;  and  the  fact  that, 
when  Charles,  through  his  mother,  expressed  an  informal 
desire  to  be  present  at  the  negotiation  of  the  treaty- 
entered  into  in  the  course  of  1659  by  France  and  Spain, 
he  was  met  with  a  distinct  refusal  from  the  Cardinal, 
augured  ill  of  the  opinion  entertained  of  his  chances. 

Henrietta's  relations  with  her  son  were  once  more 
in  a  condition  leaving  much  to  be  desired.  "  Though 
you  show  me  little  confidence,"  she  wrote  to  Charles  in 
August,  1659,  "I  do  not  cease  from  trying  to  serve  you 
in  all  I  can."  During  the  same  month  Ormond  was 
again  pursuing  his  old  avocation  of  peace-maker,  having 
apparently  been  sent  to  Paris  for  that  purpose.  On  his 
way  thither  he  had  visited  Walter  Montagu  at  his  abbey, 
and  had  represented  to  the  Abbot,  high  in  favour  at  the 
French  court,  the  present  need  of  French  help.  Arrived  in 
Paris,  he  had  a  conference  lasting  two  hours  with  Jermyn, 
when  the  question  of  the  promotion  of  a  better  under- 
standing between  the  Queen  and  King  had  been  discussed, 
the  terms  proposed  by  Jermyn  being  general — "  and  so, 
you  may  be  sure,  reasonable,"  wrote  Ormond  to  Hyde. 
The  Queen,  when  she  in  turn  received  the  envoy,  had 
been  reproachful.  Had  Charles  trusted  her  in  time,  he 
would  now,  she  believed,  have  been  in  England.  Not 
having  that  part  in  his  trust,  she  durst  not  venture  in 
the  dark  to  meddle  in  his  business,  lest  she  might  disserve 
him — contradicting  herself  in  the  same  breath  by  avowing 
that,  such  was  her  zeal  without  his  order  she  had  at 
tempted  something  with  regard  to  which  she  was  forced  to 
preserve  silence,  but  which  she  hoped  might  prove  of  great 
advantage.  Ormond  had  been  very  civilly  used,  "  and 
had  much  ado  to  defend  myself  from  being,  in  this 
woful  equipage,  lodged  in   the   Palais  Royal."     Jermyn 


ORMOND    AT   PARIS  499 

had  seconded  his  efforts  at  pacification,  seeming  "  much 
unsatisfied  with  the  Queen's  saying  anything  like  a 
reproach,  or  the  ripping  up  of  old  unkindnesses." 
Henrietta's  servants  were  possibly  by  this  time  conscious 
that  it  would  be  for  their  future  advantage  to  keep  on 
good  terms  with  the  King  and  his  counsellors,  and  when 
Ormond  left  Paris  in  September  he  carried  a  letter  from 
Lord  Crofts  telling  Charles  that  he  would  receive  by  the 
bearer  an  account  of  all,  except  his  own  behaviour,  "  which 
has  been  so  prudent  as  the  Queen  remains  entirely 
satisfied  with  your  affection  and  fully  resolved  to  persist 
in  all  the  fair  correspondence  you  can  desire." 

Before  or  after  this  declaration  of  goodwill,  Henrietta, 
acting  by  Charles'  wish,  had  inquired  of  Mazarin,  "  as 
of  herself,"  whether  it  would  not  be  fit  that  her  son 
should  assist  at  the  conferences  between  the  repre- 
sentatives of  France  and  Spain  at  Fontarabia.  Should 
the  Cardinal's  answer  be  favourable,  passes  were  to  be 
obtained  permitting  the  King  to  travel  to  the  frontier  by 
way  of  France.  But  when  Henrietta  broached  the  subject, 
the  minister  answered  "  very  warmly  "  that  it  was  by 
no  means  fit  that  Charles  should  carry  out  his  intention, 
which  would  only  result  in  harm  to  himself.  The  Queen, 
he  added,  was  to  let  her  son  know  that  his  interests  would 
be  cared  for  by  the  Cardinal  so  soon  as  it  should  appear 
that  the  treaty  would  lead  to  a  peace. 

The  message  was  duly  transmitted  by  Henrietta, 
accompanied  by  her  assurances  of  Mazarin's  kindness 
and  good  intentions.  But  Charles  appears  to  have 
remained  unconvinced.  At  all  events,  preferring  to 
be  on  the  spot  when  negotiations  were  to  be  carried 
on  with  his  new  ally,  Spain,  he  proceeded  to  make 
his  way,  though  unauthorised,  to  Fontarabia.  Finding 
the  treaty  already  concluded  and  the  Cardinal  firm 
vol.   11.  13 


5oo  HENRIETTA   MARIA 

in  his  refusal  to  admit  him  to  an  interview,  he  had, 
however,  no  alternative  save  to  take  the  road  back  to 
Flanders,  paying  on  his  way  the  short  visit  to  his  mother 
at  her  country  home,  Colombes,  which  was  all  that  the 
Cardinal  would  permit.  On  this  occasion  the  meeting 
was  fully  satisfactory,  and  "  all  former  mistakes  "  being 
removed,  the  relations  of  mother  and  son  were  established 
on  a  footing  of  amity  which  appears  to  have  been  at 
last  permanent.  Ormond,  summoned  unexpectedly  to 
Colombes  to  advise  upon  the  manner  and  time  of  the 
King's  departure,  was  able  to  send  Hyde  a  good  report 
of  the  harmony  he  had  found  prevailing.  Their  master 
was  to  travel  by  coach — with  useful  horses  bought, 
Ormond  doubted  not,  dear  enough  of  my  Lord  Crofts — 
leaving  at  soonest  on  December  17th  ;  and  "  there  is  an 
entire  satisfaction  in  the  King  and  Queen  with  each  other, 
which  I  hope  will  put  an  end  to  all  other  differences 
that  flowed  from  a  belief  of  the  contrary,  or  render  them 
less  hurtful."  In  other  words,  when  their  principals  were 
at  peace,  it  might  be  hoped  that  subordinates  would 
cease  from  quarrelling. 

For  the  present,  the  Queen  and  her  son  were  again  to 
remain  apart  ;  and  whilst  the  destinies  of  England  hung 
in  the  balances,  and  the  country  was  gradually  reverting 
to  its  old  forms  of  government,  restoring  its  Parliament 
and  preparing  to  restore  its  king,  Henrietta  carried  on 
her  old  way  of  life  at  the  Palais  Royal.  Although  the 
Restoration  was  so  quickly  to  follow,  the  treaty  of  the 
Pyrenees  had  given  little  indication  of  a  suspicion  on 
the  part  of  the  two  great  powers  concerned  in  it  that 
the  errant  King  who  had  manifested  an  indiscreet  desire 
to  intrude  himself  into  their  counsels  was  to  be  in  the 
near  future  of  sufficient  importance  to  be  worth  taking 
into  account.     When  Charles'  affairs  had  been  in  question 


SIR   JOHN    RERESBY  501 

during  the  course  of  the  negotiations,  Mazarin  was 
believed  to  have  been  "  cold  and  reserved  "  in  speaking 
of  him  ;  and  he  had  also  declined  a  proposal  of  marriage 
made  on  the  King's  behalf  by  Turenne  for  his  niece 
Hortense  de  Mancini — a  match  for  which,  though  Jermyn 
denied  it,  Henrietta  is  said  to  have  been  keenly  anxious. 
Her  desire  for  such  a  connection — especially  when  her 
subsequent  indignation  at  her  second  son's  mesalliance 
is  taken  into  account — furnishes  strong  evidence  of  the 
absence  upon  her  part  of  any  expectation  of  the  peaceful 
Restoration  which  was,  in  fact,  imminent  ;  nor  was 
Mazarin  likely  to  have  rejected  the  addresses  of  a 
sovereign  with  a  fair  chance  of  re-instatement.  It  is 
true  that,  in  conversation  with  Mademoiselle,  he  took 
credit  to  himself  for  the  disinterestedness  of  his  conduct, 
attributing  his  refusal  to  the  impropriety  of  accepting  a 
king's  hand  for  his  niece  whilst  cousins  of  his  master 
remained  unwedded ;  but  it  may  be  doubted  whether  he 
would  have  resisted  the  temptation,  had  not  the  alliance 
promised  to  prove  a  barren,  if  not  an  expensive,  honour. 

The  neglect  experienced  by  Charles  at  Fontarabia  was 
reflected  at  Paris  ;  and  Sir  John  Reresby,  a  young  man 
travelling  abroad  and  presenting  himself  at  the  Palais 
Royal  in  the  autumn  of  1659,  attributed  the  cordiality 
of  his  reception  in  part  to  the  fact  that  the  King's  affairs 
were  considered  in  so  hopeless  a  condition  that  few 
English  resorted  to  Henrietta's  court.  It  has  been 
suggested  that  Reresby's  own  assiduous  attendance  there 
was  due  to  better  information  on  his  part  as  to  Royalist 
chances  ;  but  the  hypothesis  is  scarcely  necessary  to 
account  for  the  attraction  presented  by  the  Palais  Royal 
to  a  visitor  of  twenty-four.  He  was  a  good  dancer,  was 
also  a  master  of  the  French  language,  and,  in  considera- 
tion  of  these  advantages,  was  welcomed  as  a  companion 


5o2  HENRIETTA    MARIA 

by  the  fifteen-year-old  Henriette.  The  two  danced  to- 
gether, and  played  on  the  harpsichord  ;  and  Sir  John  was 
permitted  to  walk  with  the  Princess  in  the  garden,  had 
the  occasional  privilege  of  tossing  her  in  a  swing  hung 
between  two  trees,  and  was  treated  by  her  with  all 
"  civil  freedom."  When  it  is  remembered  that  his  play- 
mate was  shortly  to  take  her  place  as  one  of  the  most 
charming  women  of  her  day,  it  is  scarcely  necessary  to 
seek  ulterior  motives  to  explain  young  Reresby's  constant 
attendance  at  her  mother's  court ;  nor  would  he  altogether 
regret  the  absence  of  the  forms  and  ceremonies  which, 
in  more  fortunate  days,  would  have  set  him  at  a  greater 
distance  from  a  princess  of  the  blood  royal. 

The  Queen,  according  to  his  own  account,  had 
a  liking  for  the  young  man,  and  encouraged  him  to 
present  himself  frequently  at  the  Palais.  Loyal  to  her 
married  traditions,  his  nationality  may  have  inclined  her  to 
view  him  with  favour,  since  he  has  left  it  upon  record 
that  she  was  accustomed  to  display  an  attachment  to 
her  husband's  country  scarcely  warranted  by  the  treat- 
ment she  had  there  experienced.  To  Frenchmen  especially 
she  had  much  to  say  in  favour  of  England,  qualifying 
the  late  occurrences  as  the  work  of  certain  "  desperate 
enthusiasts,"  rather  than  due  to  the  temper  of  the  nation 
at  large.  It  had  never  been  Henrietta's  habit  to  be 
indifferent  to  trivialities,  and  Reresby  mentions,  as  an 
instance  of  her  jealousy  on  behalf  of  her  adopted  country, 
an  occasion  when,  "to  be  very  fine,"  a  companion  brought 
by  Sir  John  to  the  palace  had  added  to  his  dress  a  rich 
trimming  of  yellow  and  red  ribbon.  Calling  Reresby 
apart,  the  Queen  bade  him  counsel  his  friend  to  "  mend 
his  fancy  a  little,"  the  two  colours  combined  being 
ridiculous  in  French  eyes  and  affording  matter  for 
derision. 


CHANGING   FORTUNES  503 

Reresby  had  other  acquaintances  in  Paris  besides  those 
at  the  palace,  and  in  especial  a  trio  of  cousins  in  an 
English  convent  to  which  Henrietta  was  accustomed  at 
times  to  retire.  One  of  these, — <c  an  antient  lady  " 
addicted  to  gossip, — entertained  the  young  man  with  the 
current  reports  of  the  Queen's  relations  with  Jermyn — 
reports  which,  though  they  did  not  find  credit  with  him 
at  that  moment,  he  afterwards  believed  to  have  been 
well  founded. 

Events  were  succeeding  one  another  rapidly,  and  it 
was  not  many  months  before  the  same  observer  noticed 
a  marked  change  in  the  aspect  of  the  Palais  Royal,  the 
good-humour  and  wit  of  the  Queen,  and  the  beauty  of 
her  daughter — supplemented,  it  is  understood,  by  the 
brightening  of  the  Royalist  fortunes — proving  more 
attractive  than  the  formal  etiquette  observed  at  the 
French  court,  and  drawing  numbers  of  guests  thither. 
It  can  only,  however,  have  been  gradually  that  Paris 
became  aware  that  the  mother  of  a  king  in  name  alone, 
a  pensioner  upon  the  bounty  of  her  French  kinsfolk,  was 
soon  to  occupy  a  position  making  it  worth  while  to  pay 
her  attentions. 

During  the  spring  of  1660  the  French  court  was, 
perhaps,  too  much  occupied  with  the  arrangements  for 
the  King's  marriage,  and  the  journey  to  be  under- 
taken to  the  frontier  to  meet  and  bring  home  his 
bride,  to  have  overmuch  attention  to  spare  for  English 
politics.  But  the  change  in  Charles'  fortunes  must 
have  been  regarded  with  interest  ;  and  by  the  time 
that  he  was  receiving  at  Breda  the  loyal  messages  of 
Parliament,  army,  and  people,  Spain  and  France  were 
vying  with  each  other  in  offering  civilities  to  the 
wanderer  to  whom  they  had  hitherto  shown  such  scant 
courtesy.     He  was  urgently  pressed  by  Spain   to  return 


5o4  HENRIETTA   MARIA 

to  his  former  quarters  at  Brussels  ;  whilst  Mazarin  was 
sending  him  by  Jermyn — now  created  Earl  of  St.  Albans 
— a  cordial  invitation  to  Paris  contrasting  sharply  with 
the  grudging  permission  he  had  received  to  pass  through 
it  during  the  preceding  autumn.  A  treaty  might  in  that 
case  be  concluded,  the  Cardinal  urged,  which  would  prove 
for  his  mother's  advantage  ;  whilst  an  opportunity  would 
be  afforded  King  Louis  of  performing  those  offices 
towards  his  cousin  which  he  had  always  desired,  but  had 
hitherto  been  incapable  of  accomplishing.  Should  it 
prove  impossible  for  the  King  to  repair  to  Paris,  pre- 
parations would  be  made  for  his  reception  at  Calais,  or 
at  whatever  other  place  he  might  appoint,  where  his 
mother  might  attend  him. 

Charles  did  not  accept  the  Cardinal's  invitation,  de- 
clining it  civilly  on  the  grounds  that,  having  refused  to 
return  to  Brussels,  it  would  be  impossible  for  him 
decently  to  pass  through  Flanders  on  his  way  to 
Paris.1  On  April  24th  he  sailed  for  England,  and 
five  days  later  had  made  his  entry  into  the  expectant 
capital. 

It  seems  strange  that  neither  his  mother,  nor  the 
little  sister  to  whom  he  was  devotedly  attached,  assisted 
at  the  King's  triumphant  return  to  his  dominions  ;  and 
it  is  possible  that  the  Princess,  at  least,  looked  wistfully 
across  the  Channel.  Part  of  that  anxious  spring  had 
been  passed  by  the  mother  and  daughter  at  Chaillot  ; 
and  writing  to  his  sister  in  February,  before  he  had  left 
Brussels,  Charles  had  expressed  a  desire  to  learn  how 
her  days  were  passed — "  for  if  you  have  been  for  some 

1  The  assertion  made  on  the  authority  of  a  manuscript  in  the  Archives 
Secretes  de  France  at  the  Hotel  de  Soubise,  that  a  visit  was  paid  by 
Charles  incognito  to  his  mother  at  Chaillot  is  uncorroborated  by  any 
evidence,  either  in  Clarendon's  account  of  his  master's  movements  or  by 
any  allusion  to  the  meeting  in  Henrietta's  letters. 


THE   RESTORATION  505 

length  of  time  at  Chaillot  in  this  bad  weather,"  he  added, 
i(  you  will  have  been  un  peu  beaucowp  ennuyeeT 

It  was  not,  however,  from  the  conventual  retreat, 
but  from  Colombes,  that  Henrietta  wrote  on  the  eve 
of  the  great  event  to  pour  out  her  thankfulness  and 
gladness  to  her  sister.  "  At  length  the  good  God  has 
looked  upon  us  in  His  mercy,  and  has  performed,  as 
one  may  say,  a  miracle  in  this  Restoration,  having 
changed  in  a  moment  the  hearts  of  a  people.  .  .  . 
I  know  not  as  yet  what  I  shall  do.  It  is  not 
that  the  King,  my  son,  does  not  already  begin  to 
urge  my  return  .  .  .  and  I  hope  before  I  die  to 
see  all  my  family,  no  longer  vagabonds,  once  more 
together." 

A  little  later,  news  had  been  brought  of  Charles' 
reception  in  his  capital,  and  Henrietta's  cup  of  happiness 
was  filled  to  overflowing.  Trouble  and  sorrow  were 
soon  to  cloud  her  joy,  but  for  the  moment  it  was  com- 
plete ;  she  had  seen  the  desire  of  her  heart  accomplished. 
Writing  to  her  son  at  five  o'clock  in  the  morning  on 
June  9th,  she  gave  expression  to  her  rejoicing  at  the 
tidings  his  messenger  had  brought.  "  I  am  starting  this 
moment  for  Chaillot  to  have  the  Te  Deum  sung  there  ; 
going  from  thence  to  Paris  to  cause  our  bonfires  to  be 
lighted.  ...  I  believe  I  shall  have  all  Paris  with  me. 
In  truth,  you  cannot  conceive  the  joy  felt  there.  We 
must  praise  God  ;  all  this  is  His  hand.  You  can  see 
it.   .  .   .   May  God  bless  you." 

A  letter  addressed  to  the  Duchess  of  Savoy,  some 
weeks  earlier,  may  supply  a  reason  for  a  preference  upon 
Henrietta's  part  for  remaining  for  the  present  in  France. 
The  King's  change  of  fortune  had  produced  other  results 
besides  the  more  obvious  ones,  and  these  were  in  especial 
tending  to  make  the  realisation  of  one  of  his  mother's 


5o6  HENRIETTA   MARIA 

favourite  schemes  not  only  possible,  but  probable.  This 
was  the  marriage  of  her  younger  daughter  with  King 
Louis'  brother.  Although  in  her  letter  to  her  sister 
she  disclaimed  any  certainty  on  the  subject,  it  was 
evidently  under  discussion.  Monsieur  was  known  to 
desire  the  match,  and  there  can  have  been  little  practical 
doubt  that  it  would  be  arranged.  Rumours  relating  to 
the  matter  had  reached  Turin,  and  it  was  in  reference 
to  them  that  Henrietta  wrote.  It  was  true,  she  said, 
that  the  report  the  Duchess  had  heard  was  current  in 
Paris  ;  but  for  her  part,  until  those  had  spoken  who 
should  do  so,  she  put  small  faith  in  rumours. 

From  a  worldly  point  of  view  the  match  was  all 
that  could  be  desired.  Henrietta  had  always  wished 
that  her  daughter  should  become  the  wife  of  one  of  her 
French  nephews  ;  and  since  the  King  was  out  of  the 
question,  she  was  ready  to  welcome  Monsieur,  become 
by  his  uncle's  death  Due  d'Orleans,  as  a  son-in-law. 
Had  it  been  the  fashion  to  take  personal  considerations 
into  account,  she  might  well  have  hesitated  ;  and  it  is 
a  strange  and  melancholy  proof  of  the  subordinate  part 
they  played  in  the  matrimonial  arrangements  of  the 
day,  that  the  Queen  should  have  been  anxious  and  eager 
to  hand  over  the  child  who  had  absorbed  the  largest 
measure  of  her  love  to  a  man  of  Philippe's  stamp  and 
character — one  who,  to  quote  M.  Anatole  France,  "  fut 
toute  sa  vie  un  enfant  vicieux,  une  fausse  femme,  quelque 
chose  de  faible,  d'inquietant  et  de  nuisible."  It  was 
true  he  was  not  altogether  without  merits ;  his  love 
for  his  mother  may  have  appealed  with  special  force 
to  a  woman  who  was  herself  a  mother  ;  and  so  far 
as  he  was  capable  of  it,  he  was  at  present  in 
love  with  his  cousin.  But,  with  the  exception  of  his 
position     as     first     prince     of     the     blood,     there    was 


HENRIETTE   AND    MONSIEUR  507 

nothing  to  cause  Henrietta's  mother  to  look  favourably 
upon  his  suit.     That,  however,  was  enough. 

By  the  time  of  the  wedding  journey  to  Fontarabia 
the  matter  was  one  of  common  talk,  and  Louis  was 
ridiculing  his  brother's  eagerness  to  obtain  a  wife. 
The  King  had  no  liking  for  the  match.  He  owned 
frankly  that  he  was  not  free  from  the  traditional 
prejudice  against  the  English  nation,  nor  had  he  yet 
overcome  his  distaste  for  his  future  sister-in-law. 
Even  when  the  engagement  had  been  formally  entered 
upon,  he  was  accustomed,  in  allusion  to  Henrietta's 
unusual  thinness,  to  deride  his  brother's  haste  to  wed 
the  bones  of  the  Holy  Innocents  ;  and  as  they 
travelled  together  to  meet  his  bride,  he  told  Monsieur 
that  he  would  certainly  marry  the  Princess,  since 
nobody  else  wanted  her  and  she  had  been  refused 
by  the  Duke  of  Savoy,  to  whom  it  was  said  that 
Henrietta  had  made  overtures.  It  was  easy  to  see, 
adds  Mademoiselle,  describing  the  scene,  that,  in  spite 
of  his  mother's  affection  for  the  Queen  and  her  daughter, 
Louis  felt  none.  Yet  the  days  were  not  far  off  when 
fears  would  be  entertained  that  he  might  love  his  cousin 
not  too  little,  but  too  much. 

In  the  early  spring,  when  the  court  was  at  Toulon, 
on  the  way  to  the  frontier,  the  death  of  the  Due 
d'Orleans  had  deprived  Henrietta  of  her  last  brother, 
Mademoiselle,  who  was  accompanying  the  royal  party, 
finding  consolation  for  the  loss  of  her  father  in  the 
reflection  that  her  mourning  and  that  of  her  train  was 
le  plus  regulier  that  had  ever  been  seen,  and  in  the 
commendations  called  forth  by  her  elaborate  arrange- 
ments. In  private,  the  small  amount  of  regret  felt  m 
be  gathered  from  her  account  of  the  perfunctory  visit 
of  condolence  paid  her  by  the   King  and  his   brother. 


5o8  HENRIETTA    MARIA 

"  You  will  see  my  brother  to-morrow  with  a  trained 
mantle,"     said     Louis,     reverting,     after    the     necessary- 
compliments,     to    his    habit     of    ridiculing    the     Duke. 
"  I  believe  he  is  enchanted  at  your  father's  death,   since 
it    gives    him    an    opportunity    of    wearing    one.     I    am 
delighted    that    he    was    older    than     I — otherwise     my 
brother  would  have  desired  my  own   death,    so   that  he 
might  put  it  on."     The  King  proved  right,   Monsieur, 
who  had  more  than  a  woman's  love  of  dress,  appearing 
on  the  following  day  in  a  cloak   of  a  furieuse   longueur. 
Louis'     forecast    of    the    success    of    his    brother's    suit 
was    likewise    justified.     By    the    time    that    the    King 
and    his    bride    returned    to    Paris,     the     Duke's     desire 
to  obtain  his  cousin's  hand  was  considered  likely  enough 
to   prove   successful   to   have  raised  her  position   to  one 
of  importance.     Hitherto  treated  as  a  child  of  no  special 
account,    Mademoiselle    now    paid    her    the    compliment 
of   jealousy  on    matters    of   etiquette,   claiming    at    least 
equal    rights.       Henrietta,    on    the    other    hand,  was    no 
less  anxious   to  maintain   that  the  order  observed   when 
the  Stuart  fortunes   had   been   at  a  low  ebb  was  not   to 
be   allowed   to  serve  as  a  precedent  in  times  of  greater 
prosperity,    and    in    August    the    contention    was    at    its 
height.      The    Queen    and    her    daughter    looked   down 
from  the   windows   of  the  Hotel    de    Beauvais  upon  the 
procession  when  Louis  and   his   bride    made   their  entry 
into   Paris,   Monsieur,    magnificently   arrayed   and  riding 
a    white    charger,    forming    part    of    the    show  ;     and    a 
momentary  halt  was  made  in   order  to  pay  the  mother 
and  daughter  the   honour   of  a  salute.      Such    marks   of 
distinction    will   have    been   watched   with   a  jealous  eye 
by   one    who,    like    Mademoiselle,    had   been   accustomed 
to  extend   her  patronage   to   the  English  refugees  ;    and 
sending  Charles  an  account  of  the  disputes  to  which  the 


HENRIETTE'S   ENGAGEMENT  509 

i 

great  state  function  had  given  rise,  his  mother  frankly 
confessed  that  she  had  taken  her  share  in  them.  The 
Queen- Mother  had  sided  with  her  sister-in-law  against 
her  niece  and  a  coldness  had  ensued.  All  were,  in 
fact,  eaorer  to  do  honour  to  the  sister  of  a  rei<rninp- 
sovereign  as  well  as  to  Monsieur's  future  wife.  The 
King  and  Queen,  coming  shortly  after  their  arrival  in 
Paris  to  pay  their  respects  at  the  Palais  Royal,  took 
the  Princess  out  driving  with  them  ;  whilst,  later  on,  a 
great  entertainment  given  by  the  Cardinal  was  understood 
to  be  in  celebration  of  the  engagement. 

By  August  25th  the  Queen  had  received  a  formal 
and  definite  proposal,  on  the  part  of  the  Queen-Mother 
of  France,  for  the  hand  of  her  youngest  child.  Of 
Henrietta's  consent  there  can  have  been  no  question  ; 
and  in  transmitting  Monsieur's  offer  to  Charles,  pending 
the  despatch  of  the  ambassador  who  was  to  be  sent  to 
London,  his  mother  added  that  she  made  no  doubt  he 
would  charge  her  with  the  expression  of  his  approval. 
"  I  assure  you,"  she  wrote,  "  that  your  sister  is  in  no 
way  sorry  ;  and  as  for  Monsieur,  he  is  altogether  in  love 
and  very  impatient  for  your  answer." 

A  visit  to  England,  in  spite  of  Monsieur's  impatience, 
was  found  to  be  necessary  before  the  marriage  could 
be  actually  carried  into  effect,  since  not  only  had  a  por- 
tion to  be  obtained  for  the  bride,  but  it  was  desirable 
that  Henrietta's  own  pecuniary  affairs  should  be  placed 
without  delay  upon  a  satisfactory  footing.  Before  the 
journey  could  be  undertaken  it  would  appear  that  the 
quarrel  between  the  Queen  and  Mademoiselle  had  been 
settled,  since  she  made  a  final  attempt  to  carry  out 
her  old  scheme  of  a  marriage  between  her  eldesl  son 
and  his  cousin.  According  to  Mademoiselle,  Madame 
de    Motteville  was  instructed    to   approach    her   on    the 


510  HENRIETTA    MARIA 

Queen's  behalf,  to  say  that  she  was  more  desirous  than 
before  of  this  match,  that  the  King  had  charged  her 
to  open  negotiations,  and  had  written  to  her  afresh 
upon  the  subject. 

Whether  Mademoiselle's  version  of  the  interview  is 
to  be  credited  remains  a  question.  That  Henrietta  would 
have  welcomed  the  marriage  was  probably  true  ;  but 
that  the  King  by  no  means  shared  her  wishes  seems 
clear,  since,  writing  from  England  in  March,  1661, 
Lady  Derby  mentions  his  aversion  to  the  plan  on  account 
of  his  cousin's  former  contempt,  and  observes  that  it 
was  not  considered  likely  he  would  be  induced  to  fall 
into  the  arrangement.  On  the  other  hand,  Henrietta 
and  her  emissary  may  have  coloured  his  views  by  their 
hopes,  and  have  deluded  Mademoiselle  into  a  belief  that 
the  throne  of  England  was  still  within  her  grasp.  At 
first  she  affected  to  treat  the  question  with  levity. 

"  The  marriage  with  Hortense  has,  then,  come  to 
an  end  ? "  she  inquired.  "  So  long  as  the  Queen  of 
England  had  hopes  of  that,  she  gave  no  thoughts  to  me." 

In  spite  of  her  scoff"  she  must  have  known  it  was 
a  serious  matter,  and  she  listened  with  attention  to  the 
arguments  in  favour  of  the  plan.  But  when  she  answered, 
it  was — again  according  to  her  own  account — to  decline 
the  proffered  honour.  She  had  refused  the  King  in  the 
days  of  his  adversity,  and  would  therefore  not  accept 
a  proposal  made  in  prosperity  and  thereby  place  it  in 
his  power  to  reproach  her  with  her  former  rejection. 
With  this  reply  the  envoy  was  dismissed,  ill  content, 
leaving  Mademoiselle,  on  her  own  confession,  in  the 
same  condition.  Whether  the  final  end  was  put  to  the 
project  by  herself  or  the  King  must  remain  undetermined. 
Henrietta  was  presently  to  have  her  thoughts  directed 
to  another  marriage  in  her  family. 


CHAPTER  XXV 

1660 

The  Duke  of  York  and  Anne  Hyde— Arrival  of  the  Princess  of  Orange 
in  London — Gloucester's  death — The  Queen's  coming— Henrietta  in 
London — The  Duke  of  York  and  his  marriage — Henrietta's  melancholy 
— The  Princess  Royal's  death— The  Queen  and  the  Chancellor  recon- 
ciled— The  Duke's  marriage  recognised — Henrietta's  departure. 

WHILST  all  had  gone  well  in  Paris,  new  develop- 
ments had  taken  place  in  England  causing 
anger  and  consternation  on  either  side  of  the  Channel. 
The  startling  discovery  of  the  Duke  of  York's  relations 
with  the  Chancellor's  daughter,  Anne  Hyde,  had  come 
to  trouble  the  restoration  festivities,  and  to  fill  his  mother 
with  indignation  and  grief. 

The  mention  of  the  affair  in  a  letter  from  Henrietta 
to  her  sister  sufficiently  indicates  her  attitude  with  regard 
to  her  son's  entanglement.  The  Duke,  she  said,  had 
married  in  England,  and  without  her  knowledge  or 
the  King's,  a  damozelle  already  with  child.  God  grant, 
she  added,  that  the  child  was  his  ;  but  a  woman  who 
would  yield  to  a  prince  would  yield  to  another  man. 

The  facts  were  as  the  Queen  described  them.     Her 
inference    was    groundless.1     It    has    been    seen    that, 
early  as   1656,  James  had  conceived   an   attachment    for 
his  sister's  maid-of-honour.      Three  or  four   years  later 
he  had  entered,  at  Breda,  into  a  secret  contract  of  marria. 

1  The  accounts  of  the  marriage  given  in  James'  memoirs  arc  difficult 
to  reconcile  with  each  other. 

5" 


5i2  HENRIETTA   MARIA 

As  to  the  exact  nature  of  this  ceremony  opinions  have 
differed,  some  regarding  it  as  in  itself  an  irregular 
marriage,  others  as  a  mere  promise  of  future  wedlock. 
On  September  3rd,  1660,  he  redeemed  his  pledge  by 
marrying  her  privately,  at  dead  of  night,  at  her  father's 
house  in  London,  Dr.  Crowther,  the  Duke's  chaplain, 
performing  the  ceremony,  and  Lord  Ossory  giving  away 
the  bride.  So  much  seems  certain.  But  in  Clarendon's 
account  of  the  matter  no  dates  are  given,  and  it  is 
difficult  to  trace  the  exact  sequence  of  events.  It  appears, 
however,  that  shortly  after  the  marriage  and  before  the 
birth  of  her  child — on  October  22nd — Anne  insisted  upon 
the  facts  being  made  public.  She  was,  she  said,  the 
Duke's  wife,  and  would  have  it  known  that  she  was  so, 
let  him  use  her  afterwards  as  he  pleased. 

James,  yielding  to  her  pressure,  went  to  his  brother 
and  made  confession.1  There  was  trouble  and  dismay 
at  court.  Charles,  in  spite  of  his  easy  good  nature 
and  affection  for  the  Chancellor,  at  first  refused  his 
sanction  to  the  connection  ;  and  Hyde  himself,  according 
to  his  own  account  utterly  taken  by  surprise,  was  "  struck 
to  the  heart."  He  was  an  honest  man,  yet  it  is 
difficult  to  believe  that  he  had  been  as  ignorant  as  he 
chose  to  appear  of  all  that  was  going  forward  in  his 
house.  At  any  rate,  he  averred  that  he  would  consider 
it  the  lesser  evil  should  his  daughter  prove  in  truth 
not  to  be  the  Duke's  wife.  In  the  case  of  her  account 
of  the  matter  being  true,  he  would  be  ready  to  give 
judgment  for  her  committal  to  the  Tower  and  execution 
by  Act  of  Parliament. 

Of  all  concerning   themselves   in  the  matter,   Charles 

1  From  one  entry  in  James'  memoirs  it  would  seem  that  the  marriage 
took  place  only  after  the  King's  consent  had  been  obtained  ;  but  this  is 
contradicted  by  another  passage. 


From  tin'  picture  by  Sir  Peter  /.<  l\. 

ANNE    HYDE,    DU(   III 


PRINCESS   ROYAL   IN   LONDON         513 

appears  alone  to  have  been  disposed  to  weigh  Anne's 
claims  with  impartiality  and  justice,  appointing  a  com- 
mittee of  judges  and  bishops  to  inquire  into  the  proofs 
of  her  marriage  and  to  determine  upon  its  validity. 
Meantime,  the  enemies  of  the  Chancellor  were  busily 
at  work.  Rumours  were  afloat  that  facts  had  been 
brought  to  the  Duke's  knowledge  fully  justifying  him 
in  repudiating  his  wife  ;  and  the  Princess  of  Orange, 
especially  indignant  at  the  exaltation  of  her  own  de- 
pendant, had  arrived  in  London,  eager  and  anxious  to 
bring  her  influence  to  bear  against  the  recognition  of 
the  culprit. 

Her  coming  had  been  hastened  by  letters  from 
Charles,  anxious  that  she  should  proceed  to  England 
direct,  instead  of  first  joining  her  mother  in  France  as 
had  been  intended.  Though  Mary  had  deferred  to  her 
brother's  wishes,  she  had  not  done  so  without  fears  of 
possible  offence  to  her  mother.  "  For  God's  sake,"  she 
wrote  to  the  King,  "  agree  between  you  what  I  have  to 
do,  for  I  know  what  it  is  to  displease  both  of  you.  God 
keep  me  from  it  again."  Before  the  end  of  September 
she  was  in  London  ;  nor  was  it  to  be  long  before  the 
Queen  was  to  arrive,  with  the  avowed  purpose  of 
preventing  "  so  great  a  stain  and  dishonour  to  the 
Crown,"  l  and,  to  quote  a  letter  written  to  her  sister, 
"  to  get  her  son  the  King  married  and  to  endeavour 
to  unmarry  the  other." 

With  regard  to  the  first  of  these  two  objects,  it  has 
been  seen  that  she  had,  according  to  Madame  de  Motte- 
ville,  now  reverted  to  her  project  of  a  match  between 
Hortense  de  Manciniand  the  King,  Jermyn  and  Mont 
being  said  to  be  in  favour  of  the  plan,  on  the  grounds 
that   Charles'  seat  upon  his  throne   was  still  so,  insecure 

1  Life  of  Clarendon. 


5 14  HENRIETTA   MARIA 

as  to  render  the  support  of  the  Cardinal  desirable,  if  not 
indispensable.  But  Henrietta  must  have  become  aware, 
before  she  had  been  long  in  England,  that  her  son's  affairs 
were  in  too  prosperous  a  condition  to  make  it  necessary 
for  him  to  marry  the  minister's  low-born  niece,  nor  was 
the  King  himself  in  any  wise  disposed  to  accept  her 
as  a  wife. 

With  regard  to  the  second  motive  she  had  alleged 
for  her  journey  to  England,  it  at  first  appeared  that 
she  was  more  likely  to  meet  with  success.  Many  were 
ready  and  eager  to  lend  a  hand  to  the  "  unmarrying  " 
of  the  Duke  of  York.  The  Princess  of  Orange 
maintained  her  attitude  of  violent  hostility  ;  and  the 
Duke  of  Gloucester  is  said  to  have  declined  to  show 
his  sister-in-law  any  civility,  replying  to  the  Earl  of 
Dartmouth,  who  remonstrated  with  him  on  the  grounds 
of  the  damage  to  his  prospects  should  the  King  die 
childless,  by  the  admission  of  his  imprudence,  but  adding 
that  the  lady  smelt  so  strong  of  her  father's  green  bag 
that  he  could  not  get  the  better  of  himself,  whenever  he 
had  the  misfortune  to  be  in  her  presence.1 

By  September  22nd,  less  than  three  weeks  after  the 
marriage  was  an  accomplished  fact,  Gloucester  was  gone 
to  a  place  where  questions  of  birth  and  blood  were  of 
less  account  than  at  the  court  of  St.  James,  and  whither 
his  sister  was  soon  to  follow  him.  The  mirth  and  enter- 
tainment following  upon  the  Restoration  had,  according 
to  Burnet,  so  raised,  his  blood  that  he  caught  small-pox 
and  died,  to  the  great  grief  of  the  King,  who  had  never 
been   seen  equally  troubled    as  by   this  loss.     Henrietta 

1  See  3rd  Earl  of  Dartmouth's  notes  to  Burnefs  History  of  His  Ow?i 
Times.  Clarendon  places  the  discovery  of  the  Duke  of  York's  marriage 
after  the  death  of  his  brother.  Suspicions,  however,  may  have  been 
entertained  earlier.  Henrietta  mentions  the  two  facts  in  the  same  letter 
to  the  Duchess  of  Savoy. 


HENRIETTA'S   ARRIVAL   EXPECTED     515 

was  not  again  to  see  the  son  from  whom  she  had  parted 
in  bitterness. 

Meantime,  Anne  Hyde's  fate  was  hanging  in  the 
balance.  Sir  Charles  Berkeley — nephew  to  Sir  John, 
now  Lord,  Berkeley,  and,  like  his  uncle,  high  in  James' 
favour — had  succeeded  in  convincing  the  Duke  of  his 
wife's  infidelity,  coupling  the  charge  with  an  obliging 
offer  to  marry  her  himself ;  and  though  the  King 
remained  loyal  to  his  old  friend  and  expressed  his 
opinion  that  his  brother  was  deceived,  the  future  of  the 
victim  of  the  slander  remained  uncertain.  Under  these 
circumstances  the  arrival  of  the  Queen  and  the  effect 
it  would  produce  upon  the  situation  will  have  been 
anxiously  awaited. 

The  announcement  that  she  was  to  be  shortly  expected 
had  taken  the  uninitiated  by  surprise  ;  and  writing  to 
her  sister-in-law  in  October,  Lady  Derby  expressed 
the  general  astonishment.  Visiting  the  Princess  of 
Orange — a  connection  by  marriage  of  her  own — she 
had  been  informed  by  her  that  the  Queen,  her  mother, 
was  to  come  to  England  as  soon  as  possible.  "  Every 
one,"  she  added,  "  tries  to  guess  the  reason  of  this  sudden 
change  ;  for  two  days  before  it  was  said  she  would  not 
come  till  spring,  and  that  she  was  afraid  of  the  winter 
air  of  this  country,  which  is  injurious  to  delicate 
lungs."  A  passage  at  the  conclusion  of  the  letter  might 
have  furnished  a  key  to  the  mystery.  It  was  reported, 
Lady  Derby  said,  repeating  the  current  gossip,  that 
the  Chancellor's  daughter  was  with  child,  and  that  she 
alleged  a  contract  absolutely  denied  by  the  Duke.  "The 
Queen,  who  does  not  like  the  Chancellor,  is  coming 
to  work  his  downfall,"  Lady  Derby  added,  exprei 
no  doubt,  the  common  conviction.  "Every  one  hat 
1m. 
vol.   11.  '4 


516  HENRIETTA   MARIA 

The  most  important  person  at  court  should  have 
been  excepted  from  this  sweeping  assertion.  But  though 
the  King  had,  so  far,  been  proof  against  all  endeavours 
to  turn  him  against  Hyde,  he  nevertheless  appears  to 
have  concurred  in  the  general  agreement  to  postpone 
any  decisive  step  until  his  mother  should  be  on  the 
spot.  The  girl — once  more  to  quote  Lady  Derby — was 
called  Duchess  in  her  father's  house  ;  but  everything 
was  said  to  be  put  off  till  the  coming  of  the  Queen. 
Henrietta's  point  of  view  can  scarcely  have  been  matter 
of  doubt  ;  and  it  was  probably  with  the  object  of  avoid- 
ing discussion  that,  before  setting  out  for  Dover  to  meet 
his  mother,  Charles  placed  in  the  hands  of  the  Attorney- 
General  a  warrant  creating  Hyde  a  peer.  He  must 
have  been  well  aware  of  the  opposition  the  mark  of 
favour  would  meet  with  from  Henrietta,  and  may 
have  preferred  that  it  should  be  bestowed  before  she 
had  been  afforded  an  opportunity  of  remonstrance. 

It  was  between  James  and  the  Queen  that  the  first 
interview  took  place.  In  his  character  of  Lord  High 
Admiral  the  Duke  had  crossed  to  Calais  to  escort 
his  mother  and  sister  across  the  Channel,  and  he 
met  Henrietta's  angry  reproaches  without  the  support 
of  his  brother's  presence.  His  reply  was  calculated 
to  disarm  her  displeasure.  He  craved  her  pardon  for 
having  placed  his  affection  unequally,  and  was  sure  there 
was  now  an  end  of  it.  He  was  not  married,  so  he 
declared,  and  had  such  evidence  of  Anne's  unworthiness 
that  he  should  think  no  more  of  her.  Cheered  by  this 
unconditional  surrender,  the  Queen  set  sail  for  England, 
so  singular  a  calm  prevailing  that,  if  her  attendant 
Capuchin,  Father  Cyprian,  is  to  be  believed,  the  passage 
to  Dover  took  no  less  than  two  days.  James  had 
furnished  his  vessel   with   the  means  of  entertaining  the 


HENRIETTA'S   ARRIVAL  517 

passengers  sumptuously,  and  showed  a  kindly  interest 
in  the  Capuchins,  for  whom  it  chanced  to  be  a  day  of 
abstinence,  by  supplying  them  with  sturgeon,  an  attention 
recorded  with  special  gratitude  by  Father  Cyprian. 

At   Dover    the  King,  the    Princess    of   Orange,   and 
Prince  Rupert  were  all  awaiting  the  travellers,  and  dinner 
was  served  and  the  night  spent  at   the    castle    at  which 
Henrietta  had  arrived  as  a  bride  thirty-five  years  earlier. 
That  time  and  adversity,  and  all  that  had  intervened  since 
the  June  day  when  she  had  first  set  her  foot  on  English 
soil,  had  not  taught  her  caution,  was  shown  by  the  fact 
that  high  mass  was  celebrated   in  the  great  hall  on   the 
following    morning,    and    the    day    after    at    Canterbury, 
where  she  rested  on  her  way  to  London.     It  may  be  that 
these    facts,    with    others    of    like    nature,    were    partly 
responsible    for    the    lack   of    warmth    in    her    reception 
noticed    by  Pepys.     It  was    believed,  he    said,  that    her 
coming  pleased  nobody.     That  the  Queen,  remembering, 
it  may  be,  former  joyous  entries  into  London,  had  pre- 
ferred to  make  her    present    one   privately  and    by  way 
of   Lambeth,  so    that   the   general    public   were   scarcely 
aware  of  her  arrival,  may  be  a  truer  explanation  of  the 
absence  of  demonstrative  welcome.     Lady  Derby,  at  all 
events,  gives  a  different  account  from  that  of  the  surly 
diarist. 

"I  have  to  beg  you  a  thousand  pardons,"  she  wrote 
to  her  constant  correspondent  and  sister-in-law,  "tor  not 
having  told  you  before  of  the  arrival  of  the  Queen,  which 
took  place  last  Friday  to  everybody's  delight,  with  the 
acclamations  of  the  whole  nation.  I  saw  her  on  her 
arrival  and  kissed  her  hand.  She  met  me  with  much 
emotion,  and  received  me  with  tears  and  great  kindn< 
You  may  imagine  what  I  felt.  Her  Majesty  ■ 
all    who    see    her,    and    her    courtesy    cannot   be  enoi 


5i 8  HENRIETTA   MARIA 

praised.  She  has  constantly  received  visitors  since  she 
came,  without  having  kept  her  room." 

Henrietta  was  clearly  doing  her  best  to  make  her- 
self popular  at  her  son's  court.  An  early  biographer1 
notices  that  she  had  that  essential  qualification  for  royalty 
— a  good  memory.  In  the  case  of  Lady  Derby  there 
were  special  reasons  forbidding  her  to  forget  the  woman 
whose  husband  had  been  so  loyal  and  faithful  a  servant 
ot  her  own,  and  had  lost  his  life  in  her  son's  cause. 
If  in  older  days  there  had  been  little  affinity  between 
the  Queen,  with  her  hot  Catholicism,  and  the  daughter 
of  the  great  Huguenot  house  of  La  Tremoille,  a  common 
loss  will  have  drawn  the  two  together  at  this  meeting,  and 
it  has  been  seen  that  Lady  Derby  had  promptly  forgotten 
her  old  grudges  and  fallen  under  the  Queen's  charm. 
But  it  was  not  only  in  an  instance  when  forgetfulness 
would  have  been  difficult  that  Henrietta  showed  a  re- 
tentive memory.  In  spite  of  her  long  absence,  she 
overlooked  none  of  the  several  degrees  of  rank  and 
position  possessed  by  those  with  whom  she  was  again 
brought  into  contact,  was  ready  to  show  interest  in  what 
each  had  to  tell  of  their  fortunes  in  the  past,  and  to 
display  the  due  amount  of  sympathy. 

Broken  in  health  as  she  was — "  a  generous  spirit," 
says  Father  Cyprian,  "  and  a  delicate  body  " — she  spared 
herself  no  fatigue.  On  the  very  day  after  her  arrival, 
when  the  Princess  Henriette  was  too  much  wearied  by 
her  journey  to  appear,  her  mother  held  a  reception. 
Nor  was  her  daughter  permitted  to  remain  undisturbed. 
Although  obliged  to  keep  her  room,  "  the  Queen- 
Mother,"  wrote  the  secretary  of  Soissons,  the  envoy 
charged  with  the  marriage  negotiations,  to  Mazarin, 
"  wished  that  M.  le  Comte  should  see  her  as  she  was, 

1  Carlo  Cotolendi. 


From  a  miniature, 

(  ii  um.mi  i  |.    1,1,    i  \    i  REMOUILLE, 


HENRIETTE-ANNE'S   ENGAGEMENT     519 

and  the  King  conducted  him  to  her  himself."  Charles' 
tired  sister  had  been  found  playing  hombre,  in  a  cornette 
and  a  many-coloured  muslin  wrapper,  with  the  Duke 
of  York  and  the  Princess  Royal  ;  and  the  secretary  added 
a  message  to  Monsieur  to  the  effect  that,  not  even 
when  her  lover  had  been  leading  her,  "  as  lovely  as 
his  little  guardian  angel,"  in  the  Cardinal's  gallery, 
had  she  been  seen  to  greater  advantage  than  in  this 
deshabille. 

Charles'  complaisance  denoted  his  readiness  to  accede 
to  the  proposal  of  marriage.  His  mother  eagerly  desired 
the  match  ;  Henriette  herself  wished  it ;  and  under  the 
circumstances  he  was  not  to  be  deterred  from  giving  his 
consent  by  the  offers  for  Henriette's  hand  tentatively 
made  not  only  by  the  Duke  of  Savoy  but  by  the  Emperor 
Leopold.  Parliament  was  showing  itself  ready  to  do  its 
duty  in  the  way  of  providing  a  fitting  portion  for  the 
King's  sister  ;  the  matter  was  practically  settled  and  all 
was  going  well. 

The  Princess  was  winning  golden  opinions  in  the 
land  of  her  birth.  In  a  letter  to  the  Speaker  acknow- 
ledging the  gift  of  her  dower,  whilst  apologising  for 
her  lack  of  conversancy  with  the  English  tongue,  she 
asserted  her  possession  of  an  English  heart,  and  the 
whole  nation  was  ready  to  believe  her.  Lady  Derby 
termed  her  "our  adorable  Princess";  General  Monk 
entertained  mother  and  daughter  at  a  supper,  followed 
by  a  comedy  ;  and  whilst  all  London  was  eager  to 
minister  to  her  enjoyment,  Henriette's  pleasure  in  the 
round  of  festivities  will  not  have  been  seriously  11 
paired  by  the  news  that  Monsieur  was  becoming  thin 
and  melancholy  and  was  suffering  from  insomnia.  I  ier 
sympathy  took  the  practical  form  of  the  preparation  of 
some  milk  of  almonds  as  a  remedy  for  sleeplessness,  and 


520  HENRIETTA    MARIA 

in  the   meantime  she  had   won  at   Whitehall   a  bracelet 
worth  two  hundred  Jacobuses. 

But  if  all  was  prospering  in  the  matter  of  Henriette's 
marriage,  the  Queen  must  have  been  quickly  aware  that 
the  realisation  of  her  hopes  of  carrying  out  one  of  the 
principal  objects  of  her  visit  to  England — that  of  putting 
an  end  to  what  she  considered  her  second  son's  entangle- 
ment— was  more  than  doubtful.  Though  she  had  prob- 
ably augured  well  from  the  Duke's  attitude  on  their 
first  meeting,  her  anticipations  of  success  must  have 
been  sensibly  diminished  by  the  fact  that,  on  the  very 
morning  after  her  arrival  in  London,  her  old  enemy, 
the  Chancellor,  took  his  seat  in  the  House  of  Lords. 
It  was  plain  that,  in  spite  of  the  affection  he  now  lavished 
on  her,  Charles  was  no  more  inclined  than  in  earlier 
days  to  defer  to  her  prejudices  ;  and  those  who  had 
hoped  that  recent  events  might  have  turned  him  against 
his  tried  friend  and  counsellor  were  to  be  disappointed. 
The  Chancellor's  elevation  to  the  peerage  was  Charles' 
reply  to  the  attacks  and  intrigues  of  his  opponents. 

The  step  was  the  more  significant  owing  to  new 
developments  which  had  occurred  in  relation  to  the 
Duke  of  York's  affairs.  The  proofs  of  the  marriage 
had  by  this  time  been  examined  by  those  to  whom  they 
had  been  submitted,  with  the  result  that  it  had  been 
declared  valid  and  good.  Under  these  circumstances 
Charles  had  acted  with  unusual  decision.  He  told 
his  brother  that  as  he  had  brewed  so  he  must  drink  ; 
and  when  the  birth  of  Anne's  child  was  imminent,  he 
caused  Lady  Ormond,  Lady  Sunderland,  and  other 
women  of  like  position  to  be  present  in  her  chamber, 
as  at  the  birth  of  a  possible  heir  to  the  throne. 
The  Bishop  of  Winchester,  too,  assisted  there,  availing 
himself  of  the  opportunity  to  address  singularly  ill-timed 


HENRIETTA'S   MELANCHOLY  521 

questions  to  the  sick  woman  as  to  her  life,  her  conduct, 
and  the  proofs  of  her  marriage.  Anne's  replies,  even 
under  circumstances  when  she  can  scarcely  have  been 
in  a  condition  to  make  the  best  case  out  for  herself, 
were  such  as  to  convince  those  present  of  the  truth  of 
her  story  ;  and  Lady  Ormond  in  particular,  the  wife  of 
her  father's  faithful  friend,  did  not  fail  to  report  what 
had  passed  to  the  Duke,  perceiving  in  him  symptoms  of 
relenting  upon  which  she  based  hopes  for  the  future. 

More,  however,  was  to  be  required  before,  in  the 
face  of  the  circumstantial  story  to  her  disadvantage  told 
by  his  friend  and  comrade,  Berkeley,  James  was  to  be 
convinced  that  his  wife  was  the  victim  of  a  malicious 
slander,  and  for  the  present  Anne  remained  under  her 
father's  roof  in  an  uncertain  and  ambiguous  position. 

Apart  from  the  anger  and  disappointment  connected 
with    this    affair,   Henrietta    was    not    without    causes    of 
grief    more     personal  ;    and    there    is    something    not    a 
little  pitiful  in   the  description  of  her  condition    at  this 
juncture.      A    natural    reaction    had    followed    upon    the 
exultation    with   which  she  had  hailed    the   Restoration  ; 
and  the  past,  at  times  at  least  reasserting  its  power,  was 
pressing  upon  her  and  turning  her  joy  into  the  bittern 
of  regret.     In  the  first  flush  of  glad  excitement  it  may 
be  that  she  had  half  unconsciously  dreamed  that  in   the 
land  where  her  happiest  years  had  been  spent  she  might 
once   more   become   the  Henrietta  of  those  sunny 
and    meet   again,    so   to    speak,    her  vanished   self.      1  [ad 
she  cherished    the   delusion    she    was    to  be   quickly   un- 
deceived.      All     had     indeed     gone     well  ;     her     utn 
expectations   had    been    fulfilled  ;    she    might   have   SUI 
her  Nunc  Dimittis  ;  the  long  years  of  toil   and   repeated 
disappointment  were  over.      But  fulfilment  is  apt  to  give 
its   deathblow  to   hope  ;  and   it   is   when   the  reined)'   has 


522  HENRIETTA   MARIA 

been  applied  in  vain  that  the  patient  realises  his  condition 
as  being  beyond  cure.  In  the  familiar  precincts  to  which 
Henrietta  had  returned,  a  woman  aged  and  broken 
by  grief  and  by  years,  she  encountered  the  ghost  of 
a  dead  youth,  of  a  happy  past,  and  she  was  often  found 
alone  in  the  rooms  where  she  and  Charles  had  lived 
together,  her  eyes  full  of  tears.  The  man  who  should 
have  occupied  the  central^  place  ;  who  had  loved  her  so 
faithfully  and  so  passionately  ;  to  whom  her  lightest  wish 
had  been  law,  if  it  were  to  his  own  undoing,  was  gone. 
It  was  no  wonder  if,  instead  of  a  throne,  it  was  by  a 
scaffold  that  the  wife  of  Charles  Stuart  was  confronted 
as  she  looked  on  at  the  festivities  of  the  re-established 
court.  Her  son  might  wear  his  father's  crown,  she 
herself  receive  all  honour  ;  her  children  might  be  around 
her,  "  no  longer  vagabonds"  ;  and  at  scarcely  more  than 
fifty  she  might  look  onward  to  an  old  age  of  peace  and 
prosperity  :  but  with  Charles  lying  in  his  grave  it  may 
well  have  seemed  that  victory  had  come  too  late,  and 
that,  in  the  midst  of  rejoicing,  she  remained  "  la  reine 
malheureuse." 

Whilst  she  was  in  this  condition  of  profound  dejection 
a  new  sorrow  was  awaiting  her.  Christmas  was  at  hand — 
the  first  since  the  reign  of  Puritanism  had  been  abolished 
■ — and  was  to  be  observed  with  unusual  festivities.  But 
on  December  18  th  the  Princess  Royal  was  attacked  by 
small-pox,  and  by  Christmas  Eve  she  was  dead.  Like 
her  brother  Gloucester,  she  had  only  come  to  England 
to  find   a  grave. 

Henrietta  was  not  with  her  daughter  during  her  short 
illness,  yielding  to  those  who  feared  her  exposure  to 
the  infection.  Henriette-Anne  was  removed  from  White- 
hall to  St.  James'.  But  the  King  kept  his  place  at  his 
sister's    side,    watching  in  tears  whilst    Mary  met  death 


ANNE   HYDE   VINDICATED  523 

without  fear  or  emotion,  and  with  a  spirit  worthy 
of  her  race.  Confronted  with  the  end,  she  is  said  to 
have  repented  of  her  harshness  towards  her  former  maid- 
of-honour,  and  of  the  share  she  had  taken  in  the  attempts 
to  influence  her  brother  against  her  ;  and,  so  far  as 
she  was  able,  she  set  herself  to  undo  her  own  work. 
When,  almost  simultaneously,  Berkeley,  Anne's  principal 
accuser,  sought  the  Duke  and  confessed  that  his  charges 
had  had  no  foundation  in  fact,  the  case  against  her  could 
no  longer  be  maintained.  The  Duchess's  position  and 
character  were  vindicated,  and  James,  who  had  played 
so  sorry  a  part  in  the  affair,  apparently  well  pleased  to 
find  his  suspicions  groundless,  sent  his  injured  wife  a 
gracious  message,  promised  her  a  speedy  visit,  and 
enjoined  upon  her  to  have  a  care  of  his  son. 

Henrietta,  it  is  to  be  feared,  was  less  rejoiced  at  the 
evidence  that  her  son's  affections  had  not  been  as 
unworthily  bestowed  as  she  had  believed  than  displeased 
at  the  consequent  necessity  of  acknowledging  the 
Chancellor's  daughter  to  be  the  Duke's  legal  wife  ;  and 
when  it  further  transpired  that  he  had  paid  his  promised 
visit  to  Anne  and  to  his  heir  her  indignation  burst  into 
open  flame.  Whenever  that  woman  should  be  brought 
to  Whitehall  by  one  door,  she  declared,  she  would 
out  of  it  by  another,  nor  ever  enter  it  again.  As  an 
additional  reason  why  the  King  should  give  his  consent 
to  Henriette's  marriage,  she  urged  the  danger  of  her 
being  insulted  by  her  low-born  sister-in-law. 

It  was,  however,  becoming  obvious  that  the  op- 
position could  not  be  carried  on.  In  spite  of  all  that 
could  be  urged,  Anne  was  indisputably  the  wife  oi  the 
heir-presumptive  to  the  throne,  her  child  his  Lawful  Bon. 
All  were  beginning  to  be  weary  of  the  strife,  and  even 
Henrietta's   adherents  were  ready  to  counsel  submission 


524  HENRIETTA   MARIA 

to    the    inevitable.     But    the    Queen    remained    implac^ 
able,  her  estimate  of  Anne's  offence  matched  by  that  of 
the  Chancellor  ;   who,  when    it    was    suggested    that    he 
should    make    overtures    to    Henrietta,   replied   that  she 
had    too    great     reason    for    her    passion,    and    that    he 
himself  had    to    complain    of    a     transgression     exceed- 
ing    the     limits     of    all    justice,    human     and     divine. 
In  this   condition    things   remained  when  the  date  fixed 
for     Henrietta's     return     to    France     was    approaching. 
There     was     probably     little     desire     on     her    part    to 
linger.     Her  financial  affairs  had  been  put  by  Parliament 
on    a    secure    and    satisfactory  footing,    Charles'  consent 
given    to    his    sister's    marriage,    and  on    the  other  side 
of  the    Channel    Monsieur  was  awaiting  his    bride.      It 
seemed    likely    that    the    Queen    would    leave    England 
unreconciled  with  her  son  and  his  wife.     But  suddenly 
her  bearing  and  demeanour  underwent  an  entire  change, 
bewildering  to  all   until  it    became  known   that   she  had 
received  a  letter   from    the  Cardinal,  warning  her  that,  in 
the  event  of  her   parting   on    bad    terms  with    her  sons 
and  the  ministers  of  State  enjoying  the  King's  confidence, 
the  welcome  she  would  receive  in   France  would  be  but 
a     cold    one.       Mazarin     succeeded    where    others    had 
failed.     It  may  be  that  Henrietta  was  glad  of  an  excuse 
for    relenting  ;     and    since    peace    was    to    be    made    she 
determined  to   do   it  handsomely.       Before  she   left  the 
country  she  made  a  treaty  of  amity  with   the  Chancellor, 
and  openly  accepted  his  daughter  as  her  son's  wife. 

This  last  ceremony  took  place  on  New  Year's  Day, 
as  observed  in  England.  It  must  have  been  a  melancholy 
festival.  Only  two  days  earlier  the  Princess  Royal  had 
been  carried  to  her  grave  ;  and  at  the  table  to  which 
Anne  was  to  be  admitted,  the  place  of  Gloucester,  the 
King's  favourite  brother,  was  vacant. 


QUEEN  AND  CHANCELLOR  RECONCILED   525 

The  unwelcome  addition  to  the  family  circle  was 
brought  by  her  husband  in  state  to  Whitehall  ;  then — it 
is  Pere  Cyprian  who  describes  the  scene — as  Henrietta 
passed  in  to  dinner,  the  Duchess  fell  on  her  knees. 
Raising  her  daughter-in-law,  the  Queen  kissed  and  placed 
her  at  the  table.      The  distasteful  duty  was  performed. 

The  day  before  she  left  London  Henrietta  had  an 
interview  with  the  Chancellor,  when  she  evinced  a  real 
disposition  to  make  peace.  She  spoke  of  Clarendon's 
services  to  her  dead  husband,  as  well  as  to  her  son  ;  ac- 
quitted him  of  all  complicity  in  the  York  marriage  ; 
described  herself  as  determined  to  receive  his  daughter 
as  her  own,  and  to  show  a  mother's  affection  to  both 
Duke  and  Duchess,  Lastly,  she  declared  her  desire  of 
cementing  a  friendship  with  the  Chancellor. 

Hyde  made  answer  in  fitting  terms  of  humility  and 
gratitude.  He  anathematised  the  marriage  ;  assured  the 
Queen  that,  had  she  been  less  offended  by  it,  her 
honour  and  dignity  would  have  suffered  ;  and  pro- 
mised for  his  part  all  obedience  for  the  future.  The 
Queen  responded  by  expressing  her  confidence  in  his 
affection,  and  the  solemn  farce  was  at  an  end.  He 
kissed  her  hand  ;  the  two  sworn  enemies  parted  ;  "  and 
from  that  time,"  adds  the  Chancellor  bitterly,  "  there 
did  never  appear  any  want  of  kindness  in  the  Queen 
towards  him,  whilst  he  stood  in  no  need  of  it,  nor  until 
it  might  have  done  him  good." 

Henrietta  must  have  rejoiced  to  bring  her  visit  to 
England  <-o  an  end.  "  The  King  says  she  will  return 
soon,"  wrote  Lady  Derby,  "but  I  doubt  it."  It  had, 
in  truth,  been  a  time  when  much  of  sorrow  and  disillusion 
had  mingled  with  the  joy  of  seeing  her  son  seated  upon 
his  father's  throne;  and  had  nothing  else  urged  her  to 
hasten   her    departure,   terror   lest    the    malady    that    had 


526  HENRIETTA   MARIA 

proved  fatal  to  two  of  her  children  might  attack  her 
remaining  daughter  may  have  rendered  her  anxious 
to  remove  Henriette  from  the  infected  city.  It  would 
be  necessary  that  she  should  ultimately  make  her  home 
in  England,  and  there  expend  the  income  assured  to  her 
by  Parliament  ;  but  there  was  nothing  to  detain  her 
for  the  moment,  and  her  presence  was  essential  in  Paris 
until  such  time  as  Henriette  should  have  been  safely, 
or  unsafely,  consigned  to  the  keeping  of  her  future 
husband. 

There  may  have  been  yet  another  reason  making 
Henrietta  consider  it  inexpedient  to  delay  her  departure. 
Like  father,  like  son.  The  Villiers  were  prone  to 
sudden  and  violent  passions,  especially,  it  would  seem, 
for  princesses  of  royal  blood.  According  to  the  account 
given  by  Madame  de  la  Fayette,  Henriette's  friend,  the 
Duke  of  Buckingham,  having  arrived  in  England  in  love 
with  the  Princess  of  Orange,  had  lost  no  time  in  trans- 
ferring his  affections  to  the  younger  sister  ;  and,  as  his 
father  before  him,  had  come  near  to  losing  his  head. 
Under  these  circumstances,  and  with  Monsieur's  urgent 
messengers  enjoining  haste,  Henrietta  may  have  thought 
it  well  to  comply  with  his  wishes. 

She  was  not,  however,  at  once  to  be  quit  of  her 
daughter's  lover.  The  King  and  court  escorted  the 
travellers  to  Portsmouth,  and  with  them  came  Buckingham, 
who,  asking  permission  at  the  last  moment  of  the  King, 
declared  his  intention  of  accompanying  the  travellers  to 
France  ;  and,  though  destitute  of  luggage  or  necessaries, 
embarked  on  the  same  vessel  as  the  Queen  and  Princess. 

His  presence  must  have  been  a  cause  of  some  anxiety 
to  Henrietta  ;  but  worse  followed.  A  curious  fatality 
pursued  the  Queen  whenever  she  undertook  a  voyage, 
and    the    ill-fortune    she    had    often    encountered    again 


RETURN   TO    FRANCE  527 

overtook  her.  Before  the  vessel  had  been  a  day  at  sea, 
the  Princess  developed  symptoms  of  such  a  nature  that 
it  was  feared  that  she  had  contracted  the  disease  that 
had  proved  fatal  to  her  brother  and  sister.  The  ship,  by 
her  mother's  orders,  put  back  to  shore,  where,  by  a 
further  disaster,  it  ran  aground  near  Portsmouth,  the 
Queen  and  her  train  being  believed  to  be  in  peril  of 
their  lives,  and  Buckingham  in  especial  in  a  condition  of 
desperation  at  the  danger  threatening  the  Princess.  Even 
after  it  had  been  ascertained  that  the  latter  was  suffering 
from  nothing  more  serious  than  a  severe  attack  of 
measles,  the  illness  was  serious  enough  to  render  it 
necessary  to  delay  over  a  fortnight  at  Portsmouth.  When 
sail  was  once  more  set,  Buckingham  was  again  on  board 
the  vessel  which  bore  the  Queen  and  her  daughter  ;  and 
having  made  himself  unwisely  conspicuous  by  his  conduct 
during  the  Princess's  sickness,  he  displayed  such  a 
degree  of  jealousy  at  the  attentions  bestowed  by  the 
Admiral  upon  his  charge,  that  on  arriving  at  Havre  the 
Queen  took  the  precaution  of  sending  him  on  to  Paris 
at  once,  whilst  she  and  Henrietta  remained  behind  to 
perform  their  journey  in  more  leisurely  fashion. 


CHAPTER    XXVI 

1661 — 1665 

Henrietta's  return  to  France— The  Princess's  marriage— And  character— 
Her  mother's  anxieties— Charles'  marriage— Henrietta  in  London  — 
The  King's  affection— Changes  in  the  Queen— Bristol  and  Clarendon 
— Deaths  in  the  royal  family — Henrietta's  household— The  French 
ambassadors— War  with  Holland— Failing  health— Returns  to  France. 

HENRIETTA  cannot  have  failed  to  contrast  her 
present  arrival  in  France  with  her  landing  on 
the  rocky  coast  sixteen  years  earlier.  A  different  wel- 
come is  accorded  to  a  fugitive  escaping  from  misfortune 
and  death,  to  that  which  awaits  the  mother  of  a  reign- 
ing and  prosperous  sovereign.  For  on  this  occasion 
the  Due  de  Longueville,  governor  of  Normandy,  met 
and  entertained  her  ;  and  when  Pontoise  was  reached, 
as  a  further  stage  on  the  road  to  Paris,  Walter 
Montagu,  its  abbot,  had  made  great  preparations  ;  and 
it  presently  appeared  that  other  guests  besides  Henri- 
etta and  her  daughter  were  expected  ;  and  that  the 
young  King  and  Queen,  with  Monsieur,  were  coming 
thither  to  welcome  the  travellers. 

Henrietta  must  have  congratulated  herself  upon 
her  timely  dismissal  of  Buckingham.  Monsieur  had 
had  his  own  anxieties  whilst  his  bride-elect  had  been 
delayed  at  Portsmouth,  and  "by  his  grief,  had  shown 
that  it  was  at  least  his  intention  to  be  afflicted."  1  Pere 
Cyprian  gives  a  less  equivocal  description  of  the  lover  s 

1  Madame  de  Motteville. 
528 


HENRIETTE-ANNE   AND    MONSIEUR     529 

condition.  According  to  him,  the  Duke  had  passed 
sleepless  nights  and  had  suffered  "  angoisses  effroyables." 
Coming  into  the  Princess's  presence  at  Pontoise,  he 
stood  with  his  eyes  fixed  upon  her,  scarcely  able  to 
believe  that  his  bride  was  in  truth  before  him.  Then, 
recovering  himself,  he  kissed  her,  begged  to  learn  all 
her  adventures  from  her  own  lips,  and  listened  to  her 
account  of  them  with  rapt  attention. 

Monsieur  was  assiduous  in  his  attendance  on  the 
Princess  during  the  short  interval  intervening  between 
the  meeting  at  Pontoise  and  the  wedding  day.  Nothing, 
according  to  Madame  de  la  Fayette,  was  wanting  to 
his  attentions — save  love.  The  miracle  of  setting  the 
heart  of  the  Prince  on  fire  was  one,  she  adds,  that  no 
woman  was  to  perform.  If  he  was  incapable  of  love  he 
was  capable  of  jealousy,  and  the  Duke  of  Buckingham's 
presence  in  Paris  threatened  to  produce  complications. 
Henriette,  however,  being  fortunately  indifferent  to 
the  Duke,  reported  the  state  of  things  to  her  mother, 
who  set  herself,  not  altogether  without  success,  to 
represent  the  matter  to  Monsieur  in  a  less  serious  light 
than  that  in  which  he  had  been  inclined  to  view  it. 
He  nevertheless  carried  his  grievances  to  his  own  mother  ; 
and  though,  remembering  old  times  and  another  George 
Villiers,  she  was  not  disposed  to  be  unduly  hard  upon  the 
Duke,  she  was  v/ise  enough  to  see  that  an  end  must  be 
put  to  the  situation.  When  Buckingham's  visit  to  Paris 
had  lasted  a  reasonable  time,  he  therefore  received  an 
intimation  that  his  presence  was  required  in  England, 
and   Monsieur  remained   in   possession   of    the  field. 

The  marriage  was  not  long  deferred.  Scarcely  more 
than  a  month  after  Henrietta's  arrival  the  Cardinal,  who 
might  have  interposed  delays,  had  passed  away  at 
Vincennes,    and  three  weeks  later    Henriette-Anne    had 


530  HENRIETTA   MARIA 

been  given  into  the  keeping  of  Philippe  d'Orleans. 
The  formal  betrothal  took  place  on  March  30th,  and  on 
the  following  day  the  wedding  ceremony  was  performed 
in  the  Queen's  chapel  at  the  Palais  Royal,  only  the 
French  royal  family,  Conde,  the  daughters  of  the  late 
Due  d'Orleans,  and  some  few  other  guests,  being 
present. 

One  wonders  whether  Henrietta,  remembering  the 
beginning  of  her  own  married  life  and  the  difficulties 
which  had  beset  her,  felt  no  misgivings  as  she  delivered 
over  her  sixteen-year-old  daughter  into  hands  so  unfitted 
as  those  of  Philippe  for  the  trust.  If  she  had  succeeded 
in  blinding  herself  to  the  possibility  of  danger,  her  eyes 
must  quickly  have  been  opened.  The  character  of  the 
new  Madame  did  not  lessen  the  perils  of  the  situation  ; 
nor  was  she  adapted  to  steer  her  course  with  wisdom  and 
discretion.  Her  figure  stands  out  with  singular  clearness 
in  the  memoirs  of  the  day,  and  with  a  charm  no  less 
singular.  There  were  women  more  beautiful,  but  none 
who  possessed  in  an  equal  degree  that  gift  for  which  every 
other  might  be  freely  bartered,  le  don  de  plaire.  On  this 
point  all  witnesses  are  agreed.  Of  the  portraits  left  of 
her,  that  sketched  by  Daniel  de  Cosnac,  her  husband's 
almoner  and  Bishop  of  Valence,  is  perhaps  the  most 
distinct  and  impartial.  He  tells  of  her  solid  and  delicate 
intelligence,  of  her  good  sense,  her  spirit  of  fairness  and 
justice  ;  he  notes  her  knowledge  of  what  was  right  even 
when — whether  from  sloth  or  from  a  certain  hauteur, 
making  her  look  on  a  duty  as  a  degradation — she  failed 
to  perform  it.  He  describes  her  gentleness  in  conver- 
sation, her  wonderful  charm — e<  one  would  have  said 
that  she  appropriated  hearts  instead  of  leaving  them 
common  property."  Above  all,  she  was  the  most  human 
person  in  the  world.     It  was,  perhaps,  this  last   quality 


From  tin  picture  by  Sir  Peter  Lely. 

Hl.-.kll.i  II.,    i.i  i  in,,  ioi     01 


MADAME'S   NEW   HOME  531 

which  best  explains  her  attraction,  and  caused  this 
"  terrible  etourdie,"  to  quote  M.  Anatole  France,  to  be 
so  well  loved.  If  she  was  a  princess  of  the  blood  royal 
she  won  hearts,  not  because  of  the  glamour  of  her 
position,  but  because  she  was  pre-eminently  a  woman 
and  claimed  a  woman's  rights.  "  When  she  speaks  to 
you,"  said  some  one,  "  she  seems  to  ask  for  your  heart 
at  once."  It  was  not  often  that  she  asked  in  vain. 
Never,  according  to  Madame  de  la  Fayette,  was  a 
princess  so  much  loved  by  men  and  adored  by  women. 
Such  was  the  girl  who,  before  she  had  completed  her 
seventeenth  year,  was  launched,  with  none  but  Monsieur 
to  pilot  her  frail  little  pleasure-boat,  into  the  perilous 
currents  of  life  at  the  court  of  the  Roi  Soleil. 

It    seems    that    Henrietta    had    cherished    the   hope 
that    her    daughter    might    be   allowed    for   a    time    to 
make    her    home    under   her    own    roof.      It  could    not 
have  been  expected  that  the  new-made  bridegroom  would 
fall  in  with  her  views,  and  the  marriage  was  not  many 
days  old  before  he  asserted  his  rights  by  removing  his 
wife  to  his  apartments  at  the  Tuileries.      The  thing  was 
just,    admits    Madame's    tender    old    teacher,    the    Pere 
Cyprian,   and    according    to    the   will    of  God,    but    was 
accompanied  by  difficulties  and  ennuis.     There  had  been 
perfect    love    between    mother    and    daughter,    and    the 
parting  was  not   effected  without  lamentation  and  tears. 
It  is  plain  that  the  Capuchin,  too,  was  anxious  over  his 
pupil.     Often,  he  tells  us,  did  he  visit  her  in   her  new 
home,  warn  her  of  the  perils  of  court  life,  of  the  necessity 
of  grace,  of  the  great  love,  the  perfect  submission,  and 
the  absolute  fidelity  due  from  wife  to  husband.     All  he 
said   was    true,    and   Henriette,   gentle    and    affectionate, 
will  have  listened  patiently  to  the  sermons  of  her  former 
teacher.     But,   when    Monsieur   was  the    husband   to   be 
vol.   11.  15 


532  HENRIETTA    MARIA 

loved,  honoured,  and  obeyed,  his  precepts  were  not  easy 
to  follow. 

Meantime,  she  was  taking  the  world  of  Paris  by 
storm.  It  was  true  that  she  had  grown  up  in  its  midst  ; 
but  her  mother  had  kept  her  closely  at  her  side.  She 
had  not  often  been  seen  out  of  the  Queen's  presence,  and 
in  it  was  rarely  heard  to  speak.  She  was,  therefore,  in 
a  sense,  a  new  discovery  and  a  surprise.  The  King 
led  the  way,  making  open  recantation  of  his  former 
prejudice  by  constant  attendance  at  the  Tuileries  ;  and 
when,  before  April  was  over,  the  French  court  left 
Paris  for  Fontainebleau,  Madame,  staying  behind  for 
the  moment,  carried  all  before  her.  No  rival  attrac- 
tion remaining  to  compete  with  her  own,  by  the  time 
the  newly  married  couple  followed  the  court  her  position 
was  assured. 

It  is  not  necessary  to  trace  the  sequel  in  detail.  The 
story  has  been  well  told  elsewhere.1  But  if  a  true 
conception  is  to  be  obtained  of  Henrietta's  latter  years, 
the  constant  grief  and  disappointment  with  which  she 
must  have  watched,  the  result  of  the  match  she  had 
laboured  to  bring  about  must  be  borne  in  mind. 
Nor  can  it  have  been  long  before  anxiety  came  to 
trouble  her  satisfaction.  Whilst  Madame  had  followed 
the  court  to  Fontainebleau,  Henrietta  had  retired  to  her 
country  home  at  Colombes  ;  but  in  the  quiet  of  that 
retreat  she  must  have  listened  with  growing  uneasiness 
to  reports  of  the  wild  gaiety  of  those  summer  days, — 
of  entertainments  of  all  kinds  ;  of  nightly  wanderings 
in  the  forest,  sometimes  protracted  until  two  or  three 
in  the  morning  ;  of  ballets  danced  in  the  open  air  by 
Louis  and  his  cousin.  There  would  likewise  be  whispers 
of  the  fears  entertained  of  dangerous  developments  due 

1  Madame,  by  Julia  Cartwright. 


ANXIETIES  533 

to  the  King's  new-born  affection  for  his  brother's  wife  ; 
of  the  growing  displeasure  of  the  Queen-Mother,  her 
disregarded  admonitions,  the  rivalry  of  the  courts 
gathered  round  Madame  and  round  the  two  Queens, 
the  sorrow  and  anger  of  Louis'  Spanish  wife,  and 
Monsieur's  awakening  jealousy. 

A  letter  written  by  Henrietta  to  Madame  de  Motte- 
ville,  then  at  Fontainebleau,  gives  some  indication  of 
her  disquiet.  She  had  been  visited  on  the  previous  day 
by  guests  newly  returned  from  Fontainebleau,  from 
whom  she  understood  that  her  correspondent  was  in  such 
close  attendance  on  the  Queens  that  access  to  her  was 
difficult.  But  one  imagines  that  her  visitors  had  made 
other  reports  to  Henrietta  besides  those  touching 
Madame  de  Motteville's  favour  at  court,  and  that  she 
had  received  full  accounts  of  the  round  of  pleasure  and 
excitement  in  which  Madame  was  playing  a  leading  part. 
"  If  you  have  much  noise  where  you  are,"  Henrietta 
wrote,  "  I  have  much  silence  here — a  better  condition 
for  the  remembrance  of  friends.  I  believe  you  are 
assured  that  you  are  numbered  amongst  mine  ;  and  you 
may  be  certain  that  you  will  remain  so."  And  then 
comes  the  end,  in  which  one  discerns  the  true  motive 
of  the  mother's  letter  :  "  You  have  with  you  another 
little  self  of  mine  (iin  autre  petit  moi-meme)  who  is  much 
your  friend,  I  assure  you.  Remain  hers.  That  is 
enough  to  say." 

It  was  enough.  Madame  de  Motteville,  reading 
between  the  lines,  did  what  she  could.  She  had, 
indeed,  been  commanded  by  her  own  mistress,  the 
Queen-Mother,  to  counsel  more  moderation  in  her 
amusements  to  her  daughter-in-law.  To  her  admoni- 
tions Madame,  after  her  fashion,  listened  with  gentle- 
ness,   receiving  the  advice   bestowed    upon    her    in    such 


534  HENRIETTA   MARIA 

wise  as  to  lead  her  monitress  to  indulge  hopes  that 
it  would  not  be  without  effect,  and  that  at  least  the 
nocturnal  promenades  which  had  been  the  chief  cause  of 
offence  might  be  discontinued.  But  all  was  in  vain,  and 
the  whirl  of  gaiety  went  on  as  before.  Pere  Cyprian, 
left  behind  with  the  Queen  at  Colombes,  was  occasionally 
summoned  to  hear  the  confessions  of  his  pupil  ;  but 
could  only  speak  to  her  on  these  occasions  of  matters 
spiritual,  "et  encore  assez  brievement,"  since  he  found 
her  so  much  engrossed  in  the  affairs  and  tracasseries 
of  the  court  that  no  leisure  could  be  spared  him  to 
discourse  to  her  after  his  usual  fashion.  In  the  short 
visits  she  paid  from  time  to  time  at  Colombes  it  may 
be  doubted  whether  the  old  priest  found  much  more 
opportunity  for  prolonging  his  exhortations. 

Matters  presently  reached  a  point  when  Queen  Anne 
thought  it  necessary  to  lodge  a  serious  complaint  with 
Montagu  and  St.  Albans.  Madame,  she  told  them, 
paid  her  no  attention,  nor  did  she  show  consideration 
for  her  in  any  of  her  actions.  She  further  directed 
the  Englishmen  to  report  her  causes  of  displeasure  to 
the  culprit's  mother. 

Henrietta  was  probably  helpless  in  the  matter,  nor 
was  she  at  this  time  really  uneasy.  Confident  that 
her  child  was  innocent  of  any  evil  intentions,  she  was  not 
disposed  to  indulge  in  undue  anxiety.  St.  Albans,  when 
he  interposed,  did  more  harm  than  good  by  his  tactless 
suggestion  that  the  Queen-Mother  should  permit  Madame 
to  pursue  her  course  of  harmless  amusement  unhindered, 
Madame  in  return  engaging  to  stand  the  Queen's  friend 
with  Louis  and  to  seek  to  promote  a  good  understanding 
between  the  two.  Anne  was  not  unnaturally  roused  to 
bitter  indignation  by  the  assumption  that  the  interposition 
of  a  third  person  was  necessary  between  herself  and  the 


ANXIETIES  535 

son  who  loved  her.  When  she  should  feel  the  need  of 
anything  of  the  kind,  she  replied,  she  would  withdraw 
herself  altogether  from  the  King. 

Thus  summer  and  autumn  passed  away.  With 
them  passed  away  one  cause  of  jealousy  on  Monsieur's 
part  and  of  anxiety  on  Henrietta's  ;  for  the  King  had 
transferred  his  affections  from  Madame  to  her  maid- 
of-honour.  Louise  de  la  Valliere's  reign  had  begun  in 
his  heart,  his  place,  so  far  as  his  sister-in-law  was  con- 
cerned, being  filled  by  the  less  conspicuous  figure  of 
de  Guiche.  Madame  did  not,  however,  regain  what  she 
had  forfeited  in  the  good  graces  of  the  two  Queens 
of  France,  devotedly  attached  to  one  another.  Having, 
before  the  court  left  Fontainebleau,  given  a  son  to  the 
King  and  an  heir  to  the  throne,  Marie  Therese  might 
have  afforded  to  forgive  her  sister-in-law.  But  when 
there  is  as  little  liking  as  existed  between  the  two, 
reconciliation  is  difficult.  Madame's  real  offence,  in  the 
eyes  of  a  woman  "qu'on  pouvait  appeler  belle,  quoiqu'elle 
ne  fut  pas  agreable," x  was  perhaps  the  charm  which 
men  and  women  alike  found  it  impossible  to  resist. 

In  the  latter  part  of  the  year  mother  and  daughter 
were  again,  for  a  time,  together.  Madame  had  been  sick 
and  suffering,  and  was  brought  back  to  Paris  in  a  litter, 
to  pass  sleepless  nights,  shaken  by  a  choking  cough.  It 
was  considered  necessary  that  she  should  keep  her  bed, 
and  Henrietta  came  to  watch  over  her.  But  the  sick- 
room was  filled  with  guests,  and  the  invalid  v 
accustomed  to  make  her  toilette  and  receive  those  who 
presented  themselves  from  the  morning  onwards  till  nine 
at  night,  when  she  would  dismiss  them  and  take  the 
opiates  ordered  by  the  doctors  to  give  the  necessary 
amount  of  sleep. 

1  Madame  de  la  Fayette. 


536  HENRIETTA   MARIA 

Henrietta,  thus  brought  once  more  into  close  relation- 
ship with  her  child,  must  have  seen  enough  to  cause  her 
to  doubt  the  wisdom  of  the  marriage  from  which  so  much 
had  been  hoped.  The  name  of  de  Guiche  was  by  this 
time  constantly  coupled  with  that  of  Madame,  and  if 
Mademoiselle  is  to  be  trusted,  the  Queen-Mother  of 
France  had  begun  to  lament  her  error  in  having 
bestowed  upon  her  son  a  wife  far  less  satisfactory 
than  one  possessing  the  maturer  years  and  sager  principles 
of  Mademoiselle  herself. 

It  was  at  the  Palais  Royal,  in  March,  1662,  that 
Madame's  baby  was  born,  proving,  to  her  anger  and 
disappointment,  a  daughter.  It  had  been  the  wish  of 
her  mother,  expressed  before  the  birth  of  the  child, 
that  her  tried  friend,  Madame  de  Motteville,  should  be 
appointed  gouvernante  ;  and  Anne  of  Austria  would  have 
cordially  seconded  her  choice.  But  upon  this  point 
Henriette  was  firm  in  her  opposition  to  both  Queen- 
Mothers.  She  may  have  borne  Henrietta's  friend  malice 
for  her  attempt  at  interference  in  the  summer  ;  at  all 
events,  she  was  determined  that  no  one  closely  con- 
nected with  her  mother-in-law  should  be  entrusted  with 
the  care  of  her  child,  and  she  had  her  way. 

The  time  was  approaching  when,  so  far  as  Henrietta 
was  concerned,  Madame  would  be  left  to  her  own 
guidance.  Charles  was  urging  the  Queen's  promised 
return  to  England  ;  and  though  Gui  Patin,  recording 
the  arrival  of  the  mother  and  daughter  at  Havre, 
mentions  that  it  was  believed  that,  unable  to  trust  herself 
to  the  English  nation,  Henrietta  was  come  to  make  a 
permanent  home  in  the  country  of  her  birth,  there  can 
have  been  at  the  time  no  such  intention  on  her  part. 
She  must  have  been  aware  that  she  could  do  but  little 
for  Madame  by  remaining  on  the  spot.     The  Comte  de 


HENRIETTA'S   RETURN   TO   ENGLAND     537 

Guiche,  owing,  it  was  said,  to  the  concerted  influence 
of  the  two  Queen-Mothers — had  been  sent  out  of 
France,  and  it  remained  to  hope  the  best  for  the  future. 
Nor,  loath  as  was  Henrietta  to  part  with  her  daughter, 
were  reasons  wanting  to  cause  her  to  look  forward  to 
a  return  to  England  ;  and  she  must,  in  especial,  have 
been  anxious  to  form  an  opinion  of  Catharine  of 
Braganza,  Charles'  Portuguese  wife.  The  marriage 
promised  more  success  than  was  actually  to  result 
from  it,  and  the  religion  of  the  bride  was  in  itself  a 
recommendation  to  Henrietta.  Jermyn  had  been  to 
England,  and  had  brought  back  a  favourable  report. 

u  The  Earl  of  St.  Albans,"  Henrietta  wrote  to  her 
sister  in  June,  "  who  arrived  last  night  from  England, 
tells  me  that  [the  Queen]  is  very  beautiful  and  more 
agreeable.  She  is  dark,  not  very  tall,  with  an  ordinary 
enough  figure,  very  well  made,  a  great  deal  of  intelli- 
gence, and  very  gentle.  The  King  my  son  tells  me  he 
is  well  satisfied  with  her.  I  am  preparing  to  start  this 
month  or  the  beginning  of  next.  The  King  my  son 
presses  me  greatly,  which  will  cause  me  to  hasten  as 
much  as  I  can." 

By  July  she  was  accordingly  starting  for  England. 
A  long  visit  had  previously  been  paid  by  her  daughter 
and  son-in-law  to  Colombes,  and  the  two  accompanied 
her  on  her  journey  as  far  as  Beauvais,  where  the  parting 
took  place  with  many  tears.  To  Mademoiselle,  before 
leaving  for  England,  Henrietta  paid  the  compliment  of 
expressing  an  ultimate  regret  that  she  was  not  destined 
to  occupy  the  English  throne,  reiterating  her  old  assurance 
that  in  that  position  she  would  have  been  the  happiest 
woman  in  the  world. 

The  Queen  must  soon  have  learnt  that  unalloyed 
felicity    was  not  to  be  her    lot    as    the    wife    of   Charles. 


538  HENRIETTA    MARIA 

Hitherto,  she  had  probably  heard  little  of  the  condi- 
tion of  the  English  court.  Charles  had  at  first  found 
a  certain  attraction  in  a  bride,  fresh,  confiding,  innocent, 
and  fond  of  himself.  But  such  a  woman  was  not  likely 
to  fix  his  affections.  Lady  Castlemaine  had  before  long 
reasserted  her  sway  ;  and  upon  Catharine  displaying  un- 
expected determination  in  withstanding  the  King's 
endeavours  to  force  his  mistress  upon  her,  the  good 
understanding  which  had  existed  between  husband  and 
wife  was  replaced  by  scarcely  disguised  hostility. 

It  was  when  matters  had  reached  this  point  that 
Henrietta  appeared  upon  the  scene.  The  necessary 
additions  and  repairs  at  Somerset  House  not  being 
completed,  she  went  first  to  Greenwich,  and  it  was  at 
the  old  palace  there  that  she  was  visited  by  Charles  and 
his  bride,  when  Henrietta's  welcome  to  the  stranger  was 
well  calculated  to  assure  her  of  a  friend  in  her  husband's 
mother.  Kissing  her  again  and  again,  she  told  her  to 
lay  aside  all  ceremony,  since  she  had  come  to  England 
for  the  express  purpose  of  seeing  her,  to  love  her 
as  her  daughter  and  serve  her  as  her  Queen.  It 
may  be  that,  remembering  the  time  when  she  too  had 
been  brought  a  foreign  bride  to  an  unknown  husband,  and 
calling  to  mind  her  forlorn  condition,  Henrietta  felt 
compassion  for  the  Queen,  in  a  position  so  much  more 
difficult  than  her  own.  In  any  case,  her  presence 
produced  for  the  time  more  amicable  relations  between 
husband  and  wife. 

On  the  occasion  of  Catharine's  visit  to  Greenwich, 
one  member  of  Henrietta's  train  will  have  been  kept 
in  the  background.  A  handsome  child  of  twelve  or 
thirteen — called  by  Pepys  "  a  most  pretty  spark  " — who, 
hitherto  known  by  the  name  of  Crofts,  was  shortly  to  be 
created  Duke  of  Monmouth  and  recognised  by  Charles 


DUKE   OF    MONMOUTH  539 

as  his  son,  had  accompanied  the  Queen  from  Paris. 
Consigned  to  the  care  of  Lord  Crofts  when  taken 
from  his  mother,  Lucy  Walters,  Henrietta  had  heard  of 
his  presence  in  France,  and  causing  him  to  be  frequently 
brought  to  her,  had  used  him,  according  to  Clarendon, 
with  much  grace.  By  Charles'  desire  he  had  accom- 
panied her  to  England,  being  received  by  the  King 
"  with  extraordinary  fondness."  As  an  earnest  of  his 
affection  Charles  set  himself  forthwith  to  secure  the  boy's 
fortunes  by  marrying  him  to  the  heiress  of  the  Duke  of 
Buccleugh  ;  and  the  wedding  took  place  in  the  following 
April. 

There  can  have  been  little  mystery  about  a  parentage 
causing  the  Duke  to  accept  a  nameless  son-in-law.  Yet 
a  discussion  between  Clarendon  and  his  master  on  the 
question  whether,  by  bestowing  a  title  upon  the  boy, 
he  should  practically  give  him  open  recognition,  points 
to  the  distinction  drawn  between  what  was  known  and 
what  was  avowed.  The  course  proposed  by  the  King 
was,  in  the  Chancellor's  opinion,  injudicious  and  likely  to 
offend  public  opinion,  and  he  gave  his  voice  strongly 
against  it.  Charles  listened  to  the  arguments  Clarendon 
advanced,  asking  when  he  had  finished  if  he  had  conferred 
with  his  mother  on  the  subject  ;  and  adding,  when  the 
Chancellor  answered  in  the  negative,  that  much  of  what 
he  had  urged  had  been  already  said  by  the  Queen,  "  who 
was  entirely  of  his  opinion — which  she  used  not  to  be." 

After  this  comforting  assurance,  coupled  with  the 
promise  to  confer  with  both  his  counsellors  together, 
Clarendon  may  have  hoped  that  prudence  would  prevail. 
But  no  more  was  said  on  the  subject  by  the  King.  Like 
his  sister,  he  displayed  more  deference  to  advice  in  word 
than  in  action  ;  and,  consulting  neither  his  mother  nor 
his  Chancellor,  he  created  the  boy  Duke  of  Monmouth. 


540  HENRIETTA    MARIA 

Meantime,  Henrietta  had  assisted  at  the  grand  entrance 
into  London  made  by  the  new  Queen,  and  though  in- 
capable of  holding  converse  with  each  other  without  an 
interpreter,  a  thoroughly  good  understanding  had  been 
arrived  at  between  them.  At  court,  too,  there  was  at 
least  the  appearance  of  peace.  Whether  or  not  the 
Queen-Mother  had  advised  her  daughter-in-law  to  accept 
the  inevitable,  Lady  Castlemaine  was  received  by  both; 
and  on  September  yth  Pepys  records  that  at  Somerset 
House  he  had  witnessed  a  motley  assemblage,  including 
both  Queens,  Lady  Castlemaine,  and  young  Crofts,  "  who 
I  perceive  do  hang  much  on  my  Lady  Castlemaine,  and 
is  always  with  her,  and  I  hear  the  Queens  are  both 
mightily  kind  to  him."  The  King,  with  the  Duke  and 
Duchess  of  York,  afterwards  joined  the  party,  until, 
evening  coming  on,  Charles  and  his  wife,  with  Lady 
Castlemaine  and  the  boy,  all  went  away  in  one  coach. 
There  had  been  laughter  and  merriment,  and  the  Queen 
had  achieved  one  English  sentence,  which,  being  "  You 
lie,"  had  caused  the  King  much  mirth,  and  he  would 
have  made  her  say  in  English,  "  Confess,  and  be  hanged." 

Although  Henrietta  may  have  restored  peace  at  court, 
she  must,  one  would  think,  have  considered  it  but  a 
sorry  one,  built  as  it  was  upon  condonation.  Her  own 
relations  with  her  son  could  scarcely  have  been  bettered. 
Now  that  Charles  was  a  reigning  sovereign,  his  mother 
had  probably  given  up  the  attempt  to  direct  his  counsels 
and  rule  his  conduct,  productive  of  dissension  in  the 
past  ;  and  he  was  unfeignedly  glad  of  her  presence 
in   England  and  anxious  to  keep  her  there. 

"  The  Queen,"  he  wrote  to  Madame  a  few  weeks 
after  her  arrival,  "  has  told  you,  I  hope,  that  she  is  not 
displeased  with  her  being  here.  I  am  sure  that  I  have 
done  all  in  my  power  to  let  her  see  the  duty  and  kindness 


CHANGES   IN   THE   QUEEN  541 

I  have  for  her.  The  truth  is  never  any  children  had  so 
good  a  mother  as  we  have,  and  you  and  I  shall  never 
have  any  disputes  but  only  who  loves  her  best,  and  in 
that  I  will  never  yield  to  you." 

The  marked  change  in  the   relations  of  mother   and 
son  may  have  been  due  to  something  more  than  outward 
circumstances.      It  is   not  often,  perhaps,   that  wisdom   is 
learnt  with  years,  or  that  character  is  sensibly  modified  ; 
but  the   thing   is  not   impossible,    and,   as    one    reads  of 
Henrietta  in  these  latter  days,  the  impression  is  conveyed 
of  a    greater  softness  and  gentleness  than  of  old.     She 
had    also    realised   the   sovereign  virtues  of  silence.     "  I 
heard    her    say,"    wrote    Madame    de    Motteville,   "  that 
kings  should  be  like  confessors,  knowing  all  and  saying 
nothing — that    those    who   approach    them    tell    of   their 
needs  and  often  display  their  passions,   their  hate,  their 
malice,  and  their  injustice.   .   .   .  Of  all   this,  as  much  out 
of  charity  as  to  avoid  making  mischief,  nothing  should 
be    repeated."       "There    was    no    good    quality,"    says 
Cotolendi,    "  that  she    valued  as  much  as  secrecy.     She 
kept  all   secrets  confided   to  her."     Even  more  than  by 
her  discretion,  she  was  perhaps    commended    to  Charles 
by    the  brightness  and   keenness  of   her    wit.       In  con- 
versation she  was  free  and  gay,  jesting  with  easy  grace. 
It  was  true  that  in  her  laughter,  innocent  of  the  inten- 
tion of  wounding  as   it  might  be,  there  was  sometimes 
a  sting  to  which   those   at    whom    it  was  directed   were 
not  insensible.     But  it  was  observed  that  gradually  she 
learnt  to  restrain  her  speech  and  to  examine  her  words. 
Religion  was  more  and   more  with   her  a  motive  power, 
and  laid  its  seal  upon   her  lips. 

It  has  been  observed  that  she  had  the  qualities 
necessary  to  a  good  friend.  In  London  she  was  not 
forgetful    of    those     she     had     left     behind    in     France  ; 


542  HENRIETTA   MARIA 

and  her  letter  to  the  nuns  at  Chaillot  upon  the  death 
of  the  Mere  de  la  Fayette  indicates  a  real  and  personal 
regret.  "  I  cannot  explain  my  grief  to  you,"  she  wrote  ; 
"  it  is  too  great" — a  grief  based  not  only  upon  esteem, 
but  upon  gratitude  for  all  she  had  learnt  from  the 
dead. 

In  spite  of  grief  and  loss — in  spite,  too,  of  haunting 
memories — her  present  return  to  England  had  been  a 
happy  one.  It  is  true  that,  to  a  woman  distinguished, 
according  to  Madame  de  Motteville,  judging  by  her 
conversation  and  her  honnetete  naturelle^  by  special  purity 
of  heart,  the  condition  of  her  son's  court  must  have 
been  saddening  and  disturbing.  But  she  may  have 
possessed  the  faculty  of  resigning  herself  to  ills  she  was 
incapable  of  mending.  At  first,  too,  she  appears  to 
have  shut  her  eyes  to  what  would  have  caused  her  most 
pain  ;  since,  writing  to  her  sister  that  no  one  was  more 
contented  than  herself,  and  the  King  was  showing  her 
so  much  attachment  and  confidence  that  she  could  not 
wish  for  more,  she  added  that  she  had  the  joy  of  seeing 
that  he  and  his  wife  loved  each  other  exceedingly. 

This  cause  of  rejoicing  must  have  been  short-lived. 
But  letter  after  letter,  during  these  months,  show 
that  the  storm-tossed  Queen  felt  at  last  in  port.  "  I 
am  altogether  satisfied  with  my  son,"  she  repeated 
in  November,  "and  I  think  that  God  wishes  to  give 
me  some  happiness  again  in  this  world,  finding  myself 
with  my  family,  who  do  what  they  can  to  give  it  to 
me."  And  once  more,  at  Christmas  time,  "  I  am  the 
most  satisfied  person  in  the  world  with  regard  to  my 
daughter-in-law.  She  is  a  saint — she  is  altogether 
devote.  I  am  very  happy  with  her."  That  she  was 
also  at  peace  with  her  second  son  may  be  inferred  from 
her  mention  of  cc  ma  fille,  la  Duchesse  de  York  "  ;  and 


LIFE   IN   ENGLAND  543 

Lady  Derby,  writing  of  the  court  during  the  autumn, 
describes  the  Queen  as  never  having  been  gayer  or  more 
happy.  Henrietta  tells  of  ballets  to  be  given,  and  of 
Charles'  desire  that  she  should  be  present.  "  Je  crois," 
she   says,   "que  j'   auray  aller." 

Giving  an  account  to  his  sister  of  his  efforts  to 
organise  the  masque  in  which  he  desired  that  his 
mother  should  take  a  part,  the  King  confessed  that 
they  had  resulted  in  failure,  owing  to  the  impossibility 
of  finding  a  man  capable  of  making  a  proper  entree. 
Catharine  was,  however,  taking  kindly  to  the  pastime. 
"  My  wife,"  he  added,  "  has  made  a  good  beginning 
in  this  way,  for  the  other  day  she  had  contre-danses 
performed  in  her  bedchamber  by  my  Lord  Aubigny,' 
her  grand  almoner,  "and  two  others  of  her  chaplains." 

Altogether,  the  impression  is  left  upon  the  mind  that, 
for  the  present,  the  "  reine  malheureuse  '  had  lost  her 
right  to  the  name.  It  is  true  that,  by  Pere  Cyprian's 
account,  her  health  had  suffered  from  the  first  from 
the  climate  of  England,  of  which  the  Capuchin  had 
but  a  bad  opinion  ;  but  her  letters  during  the  year 
following  her  return  give  no  sign  of  permanent  illness, 
and  writing  in  November,  1663,  to  her  sister,  who  had 
heard  a  report  that  she  was  to  pay  one  of  her  accustomed 
visits  to  the  Bourbon  springs,  she  altogether  disclaimed 
any  such  intention.  She  had,  she  declared,  never  thought 
of  doing  so,  and  hoped  to  stand  in  no  need  of  the  cure. 

She  seems  to  have  established  herself,  as  if  for  a 
permanency,  in  her  son's  kingdom.  Her  income  was 
setded,  and  her  household  arranged  on  a  footing  corre- 
sponding to  her  position,  with  all  its  officers,  ecclesiastical 
and  3ecular,  St.  Albans  as  before  occupying  the  chief 
place.  The  report  of  the  Queen's  marriage  to  her 
principal  servant  had  gained  currency,  and  is  more  than 


544  HENRIETTA    MARIA 

once    mentioned    by    Pepys — "  how    true    God    knows," 
adds,  however,  the  gossip. 

As  was  inevitable,  Henrietta  was  not  without  her 
unfavourable  critics.  The  magnificence  of  her  court  was 
viewed  with  jealousy,  and  it  was  observed  that  it  was 
more  frequented  than  that  of  her  daughter-in-law, 
where  there  was  "  no  allowance  of  laughing  and 
mirth  that  is  at  the  other's."  She  was  reported  to 
have  exceeded  her  income  and  run  into  debt.  That 
she  was  lavish  and  open-handed  is  undoubtedly  true  ; 
but  her  carefulness  in  regulating  her  expenditure  does 
not  bear  out  the  charge,  and  her  principles  as  to 
payment  of  debts  are  said  to  have  been  exceptionally 
strong.  Thus,  when  a  guest  was  once  extolling  the 
practice  of  sending  alms  to  distant  lands,  the  Queen, 
wishing  to  read  a  lesson  to  the  speaker,  whilst  concurring 
in  praise  of  the  charities  in  question,  added  that  debts 
must  first  be  paid  ;  otherwise  God  rejects  and  curses  the 
gift.  An  English  memoir  published  shortly  after  her 
death  also  states  that,  settled  at  Somerset  House,  "  she 
had  a  large  reputation  for  her  justice  to  all  people,  paying 
exactly  well  for  whatsoever  her  occasions  required,  weekly 
discharging  all  accounts,  and  withal  bestowing  good  sums 
of  money  quarterly  to  charitable  uses." 

A  curious  story  belonging  to  this  time  finds  a  place 
in  the  same  pamphlet,  worth  quoting  as  an  example  of 
the  reports  current  even  amongst  those  favourably  dis- 
posed towards  the  Queen.  "  She  desired,"  says  the 
writer,  "  to  live  with  the  least  offence  imaginable  to  any 
sort  of  men,  and  therefore  was  very  much  troubled  to 
hear  that  of  Dr.  Dumoulin,  prebend  of  Canterbury  .  .  . 
her  confessor  was  seen  on  horseback,  brandishing  his 
sword,  and  to  fling  his  hat  by  the  scaffold  where  the 
late  King  was  beheaded  ;   and    being   asked    why    he  of 


HOSTILITY   TOWARDS   CATHOLICS     545 

all  men  should  do  so,  replied,  That  that  was  the  most 
glorious  day  that  ever  came,  and  that  that  act  was  the 
greatest  thing  that  ever  was  done  to  advance  the  Catholic 
religion,  whose  greatest  enemy  was  that  day  cut  off." 

Whether  the  Queen's  confessor  had  been  overtaken 
by  a  sudden  access  of  madness,  or  Dr.  Dumoulin  of 
Canterbury  had  dreamt  a  dream,  or  the  tale  was  merely 
invented  to  increase  the  odium  attaching  to  Catholics, 
must  remain  undetermined.  The  hostility  of  Parliament 
towards  their  religion  needed  no  strengthening  ;  and  how- 
ever reluctant  Charles  may  have  been  to  proceed  against 
those  belonging  to  the  unpopular  faith,  he  found  himself 
unable  to  resist  the  demand  for  an  act  of  uniformity  bearing 
equally  hard  upon  Catholics  and  Presbyterians.  In 
April,  1663,  it  was  further  necessary  to  satisfy  public 
sentiment  by  the  issue  of  a  proclamation  ordering  all 
priests  and  Jesuits,  save  those  permitted  by  the  marriage 
contracts  of  the  two  Queens,  to  leave  the  kingdom.  It 
does  not  appear  that  Henrietta  took  any  active  part  in 
opposition  to  measures  so  distasteful.  She  had  probably 
learnt  the  unwisdom  of  interference,  and  the  knowledge 
that  Charles  was  no  willing  agent  in  the  matter  may 
have  helped  her  to  resignation.  His  efforts  to  mitigate 
the  severity  of  religious  tests  had,  indeed,  raised  so  bitter 
an  opposition  that  he  had  no  choice  but  to  give  way. 

For  the  ecclesiastical  posts  attached  to  Henrietta's 
household  there  had  been  at  first  a  spirited  com- 
petition between  the  Oratorians,  supported  by  St.  Albans 
and  Montagu,  her  almoner,  and  the  Capuchins,  who, 
originally  entrusted  with  the  charge  of  her  chapel,  had 
returned  to  claim  their  rights.  But  the  Queen  had 
succeeded  in  composing  their  differences,  and  the 
Capuchins  remained  in  peaceful  possession. 

In  opposition  to  any  relaxation  of  the  bills  directed 


546  HENRIETTA   MARIA 

against  the  Catholics,  Henrietta's  old  antagonist, 
Clarendon,  had  taken,  as  might  have  been  expected,  a 
leading  part — one  which,  it  is  said,  was  never  forgiven 
by  his  master.  At  the  same  time,  when  an  attempt  was 
made  in  the  summer  by  his  old  friend  the  Earl  of 
Bristol,  now  reconciled  to  the  Catholic  Church,  to  oust 
the  Chancellor  from  place  and  power,  Charles  was  roused 
to  unusual  activity  on  his  behalf;  whilst  the  French 
ambassador,  de  Comminges,  expressing  his  amazement 
at  the  attack  made  upon  a  man  in  Clarendon's  position, 
mentions  twice  over,  amongst  the  defences  which  safe- 
guarded him,  the  support  and  goodwill  of  the  Queen- 
Mother.  So  far,  it  is  therefore  evident,  Henrietta  had 
remained  faithful  to  the  pledge  of  friendship  she  had 
given  him. 

Meantime,   affairs  in  the    royal    household    were    on 
no   better   a    footing.     In    the    autumn   of   1663  it  had 
appeared    likely    that    the    neglected    Queen    was    about 
to  escape  from  her   difficulties  by  betaking   herself  else- 
where, and   a  dangerous   illness  had  threatened  her  life. 
In   her   delirium,   her  preoccupying  anxiety  found  vent, 
and   she  raved   of  the  little  son  she  believed  herself  to 
have    borne,   lamenting  that   her   boy   was    but  an   ugly 
boy,   but  taking  comfort   when   the  King,    standing  by, 
assured    her    that  he   was  a  very   pretty   one.     "  Nay," 
she    said,    "  if  it  be   like  you,    it   is  a  fine  boy  indeed, 
and   I   would   be    very    well   pleased   with    it."      Few    in 
England,  save  the  Queen-Mother,  would   have    grieved 
had  the  childless  Queen  gone  to  her  rest.     Charles  was 
soft-hearted,   and    his    tears,    according    to    Waller,  con- 
tributed   to    his    wife's    recovery.      But    speculation    was 
already  rife  as  to  whether  the  new  object  of  his  devotion, 
Frances  Stewart,  would  occupy  the  place  the  Queen  would 
leave  vacant. 


DEATH   OF   MADAME   ROYALE         547 

Human  nature  is  many-sided,  and  there  is  no  reason 
to  doubt  that  Charles'  tears  when  he  thought  his  wife 
was  upon  her  death-bed,  mingled  as  they  must  have  been 
with  remorse  and  shame,  were  sincere.  Even  when  she 
had  done  him  so  ill  a  turn  as  to  recover,  the  effects  of 
his  compunction  were  visible,  and  in  December  he 
was  not  only  concerning  himself  with  her  amusement, 
reporting  to  his  sister  that  she  had  been  well  enough  to 
be  present  at  a  little  ball  given  in  the  private  apartments, 
but  was  also  begging  Madame  to  send  him  from  France 
a  gift  to  her  liking  in  the  shape  of  religious  prints  to 
place  between  the  leaves  of  her  prayer-book.  "  She 
will  look  at  them  often  enough,"  he  added,  enumerating 
the  offices  his  wife  daily  said.  It  was  well  that  Catharine 
found  comfort  in  her  religion,  for  she  must  have  had 
little  of  other  kinds.  But  so  long  as  Henrietta  was  at 
hand,  her  unfortunate  daughter-in-law  will  at  least  have 
been  sure  of  one  firm  friend. 

A  fresh  sorrow  was  to  overtake  the  Queen-Mother 
before  the  close  of  the  year.  Her  attachment  for 
her  sister,  the  Duchess  of  Savoy,  had  continued  strong 
and  faithful  through  the  long  years  of  separation ;  but 
the  tie  was  now  to  be  broken.  With  the  last  days 
of  the  year  Madame  Royale,  as  she  was  called  in 
the  land  of  her  birth,  passed  away.  The  children  of 
Henri  of  Navarre  and  Marie  de  Medicis  were  a  short- 
lived race,  and  by  the  Duchess's  death  Henrietta  was 
left  the  sole  survivor  of  the  group. 

Links  with  the  past  were  becoming  ominously  few  ; 
but  the  future  lay  hopefully  before  the  Queen's  sanguine 
eyes.  The  little  Duke  of  Cambridge,  whose  approaching 
birth  had  caused  the  Duke  of  York  to  avow  his  marria 
in  1660,  was  dead,  but  other  children  had  supplied 
his   place  ;    and    writing    to   her    sister   at   a   time    when 

VOL.    II.  l6 


548  HENRIETTA   MARIA 

she  indulged  hopes  of  a  direct  heir  to  the  throne,  the 
Queen-Mother  had  boasted  that  the  house  of  Stuart 
was  not  likely  to  become  extinct.  It  was  fortunate  that 
its  future  destinies  were  hidden  from  her  sight,  and  that 
none  of  the  soothsayers  in  whom  she  had  displayed  a 
lingering  faith  had  power  to  withdraw  the  veil  that 
covered  the  future,  and  to  show  her  the  lawful  heirs 
driven  from  their  heritage,  and  become  again,  to  use  her 
own  words,  vagabonds ;  whilst  strangers  and  foreigners, 
with  scarcely  a  drop  of  the  old  royal  blood  running  in 
their  veins,  sat  on  the  throne  of  their  fathers.  With 
James'  children  coming  fast,  with  Madame's  nursery 
filling,  and  with  her  daughter  Mary's  little  son  growing 
up,  there  may  have  seemed — leaving  the  chance  of 
possible  direct  heirs  to  the  King  out  of  the  reckoning 
— little  fear  of  the  race  dying  out. 

During  the  year  1664  war  with  Holland  was  becoming 
more  ana  more  imminent,  whilst  relations  with  France 
were  strained.  The  sale  of  Dunkirk  had  been  too 
bitterly  resented  by  the  nation  to  be  easily  forgotten, 
and  in  allusion  to  the  share  he  had  had  in  the  transaction 
the  Chancellor's  new  house  was  nicknamed  by  the  mob 
the  New  Dunkirk.  When  the  Houses  met  in  March, 
Bristol  was  back  in  England,  and  was  believed  to  be  again 
attempting  to  compass  Clarendon's  downfall.  The  King, 
however,  still  showed  himself  the  friend  of  the  unpopular 
minister,  and  "  ran  up  and  down  to  and  from  the  Chan- 
cellor's like  a  boy."     Clarendon's  ruin  was  postponed. 

One  would  imagine  that  Henrietta,  in  the  course  of 
her  present  visit  to  England,  must  more  than  once  have 
regretted  her  choice  of  those  she  had  brought  in  her 
train  from  Paris.  The  beautiful  Frances  Stewart,  daughter 
of  Lord  Blantyre,  who,  resisting  Louis'  efforts  to  detain 
her  in  France,  had  followed  the  Queen  to  England,  was 


MADAME   DE   FIENNES  549 

contesting  with  Lady  Castlemaine  her  place  in  the 
King's  affections  ;  and  if  the  responsibility  of  having 
introduced  Monmouth  into  the  country  rested  with 
her,  she  must  also  have  doubted  her  wisdom  in  assuming 
it.  Charles'  "  extraordinary  fondness  "  for  the  boy  had 
produced  whispers  of  possible  complications  in  the  future  ; 
and  the  scene  at  Windsor  when  the  King,  entering  the 
ballroom  and  finding  the  little  Duke  dancing  bareheaded 
with  the  Queen,  had  kissed  him  and  bidden  him  put  on 
his  hat,  would  have  gone  far  to  give  colour  to  such 
misgivings.  In  the  autumn  of  1664  two  members  of 
Henrietta's  own  household,  Madame  de  Fiennes,  a  lady 
of  mature  years  and  much  indiscretion,  and  her  husband, 
the  Comte  de  Chapelles,  were  the  chief  actors  in  a  scene 
causing  no  small  disturbance.  The  Count  was  the  son  of 
Henrietta's  nurse  ;  and  in  bestowing  her  hand  upon  him 
his  wife  had  been  guilty  of  a  mesalliance  turned  by 
Mademoiselle  into  bitter  ridicule  in  days  before  she 
contemplated  a  like  sacrifice  of  sense  to  sentiment. 
Her  condemnation  of  the  woman  who,  at  forty,  and 
the  daughter  of  an  old  house,  had  made  herself  the 
daughter-in-law  of  Madame  la  Nourrice,  sister-in-law  of 
all  the  maid-servants,  and  the  wife  of  a  young  man  of 
two-and-twenty,  was  not  unjustified  ;  and  that  Made- 
moiselle's opinion  was  in  some  degree  shared  by  the  lady 
herself  is  to  be  assumed  from  the  fact  that  she  never 
consented  to  bear  her  husband's  name. 

Occupying  the  post  of  lady-in-waiting  to  Henrietta 
in  Paris,  and  gifted  with  a  sharp  tongue,  a  caustic  wit, 
and  an  arrogant  temper,  she  had  made  an  embittered 
enemy  of  Anne  of  Austria,  and  was  probably  glad  to 
accompany  Henrietta  to  England,  where  her  husband 
obtained  a  post  in  the  Queen's  Guards  at  Somerset  House, 
of  which  St.  Albans  was  captain. 


550  HENRIETTA    MARIA 

It  was  between  the  Count  and  his  superior  officer 
that  a  quarrel  took  place  in  the  very  ante-chamber  of  the 
Queen.  Having  by  some  show  of  insubordination  given 
offence  to  St.  Albans,  the  latter  addressed  him  after  an 
abusive  fashion,  adding  that,  had  he  not  been  restrained 
by  respect  for  the  royal  precincts,  he  would  have  run  the 
Count  through  the  body.  Chapelles  resented  the  menace 
with  his  hand  on  his  sword,  and  those  present  were 
obliged  to  throw  themselves  between  the  disputants  to 
part  them. 

Henrietta,  informed  of  the  quarrel,  interposed  at  this 
point  in  person,  pardoned  the  outrage  to  herself,  and 
directed  Chapelles  to  make  proper  apology  to  the  earl. 
All  might  have  been  thus  composed,  had  not  a  new 
element  been  introduced  by  the  arrival  upon  the  scene 
of  Madame  de  Fiennes,  who,  apparently  beside  herself 
with  anger,  reproached  the  Queen  with  services  done  her 
by  Chapelles,  and  went  so  far  as  to  tell  her  mistress 
that  it  was  to  his  mother  that  she  owed  her  life.  The 
very  extravagance  of  her  passion  probably  prevented 
Henrietta  from  taking  the  matter  seriously,  and  though 
the  laugh  with  which  she  received  the  attack  only  kindled 
the  angry  woman's  wrath  the  more,  the  affair  ended 
without  serious  consequences,  and  is  chiefly  worth  notice 
as  corroborating  other  accounts  of  the  Queen's  indulgence 
towards  her  servants.  Chapelles  was  reported  by  the 
King  to  his  sister  to  have  been  ct  as  much  in  the  wrong 
as  a  man  could  well  be  to  his  superior  officer  "  ;  but  even 
when  that  officer  was  St.  Albans,  Henrietta  was  ready  to 
forgive  the  offence.  De  Comminges,  it  is  true,  noted  that, 
though  "  bonne  jusqu'a  l'exces,"  she  was  not  pleased,  and 
that  this  last  outbreak  of  her  lady-in-waiting  had  revived 
the  memory  of  numberless  small  offences  in  the  past ; 
whilst  her  vexation  had  been  increased  by  the  fact  that 


THE    FRENCH   AMBASSADORS  551 

the  King — suspected  of  anti-French  proclivities — had 
been  delighted  at  the  incident.  It  might,  de  Com- 
minges  thought,  end  in  Madame  de  Fiennes'  and  her 
husband's  return  to  France.  Such  was  not,  however, 
the  result.  The  extreme  kindness  of  the  Queen  had, 
the  envoy  reported,  imposed  silence  upon  all  with  regard 
to  what  had  passed,  and  it  was  not  until  Henrietta  left 
England  that  Madame  de  Fiennes  likewise  crossed  the 
Channel. 

The  tendency  shared  by  King  and  nation  to  rejoice 
at  whatever  might  redound  to  the  discredit  of  France 
must  have  been  a  serious  cause  of  trouble  to  the  French 
Queen.  For  her  part,  she  had  done  what  she  could 
to  atone,  by  special  courtesy,  for  the  lack  of  cordiality 
displayed  towards  the  representatives  of  the  Roi  Soleil, 
come  to  England  with  a  view  to  promote  a  good  under- 
standing between  the  two  countries,  and  to  keep  peace, 
if  possible,  between  England  and  Louis'  own  ally,  Holland. 
"  I  had  an  audience  of  the  Queen-Mother,"  wrote  de 
Comminges  on  his  first  arrival,  "  who,  to  oblige  the  King 
[Louis],  wished  that  my  coaches  might  be  allowed  in  the 
yard  ;  and  I  must  confess  that  I  was  received  by  all  the 
officers  with  so  much  honour  and  such  a  show  of  satisfac- 
tion that  nothing  could  be  added  to  it."  When  the 
ambassadors  had  been  treated  with  deliberate  incivility  by 
Clarendon  and  others  at  a  banquet  of  the  Lord  Mayor's, 
and  the  affair  had  been  too  serious  to  be  passed  lightly 
over,  St.  Albans  and  Montagu  were  amongst  the  first  to 
repair  to  the  embassy  with  the  object  of  preserving 
peace.  It  was,  however,  difficult,  when  the  whole  nation 
was  hostile,  to  avoid  collisions ;  and  de  Comminges, 
later  on,  mentions,  as  an  example  of  the  absurdity  of 
the  reports  which  gained  easy  credence,  that  when  he 
had  presented  Henrietta  with  a  caliche  sent  her  by  King 


552  HENRIETTA   MARIA 

Louis,  half  the  town  had  run  to  inspect  it,  saying  that 
it  represented  the  tribute  paid  by  France  to  England  ; 
and  that,  to  conceal  the  obligation,  the  King  had  permitted 
that  it  should  be  offered  to  his  mother. 

England  was  soon  to  realise  that  Louis  was  not 
paying  tribute  to  Charles.  In  the  meantime,  negotia- 
tions proceeded  slowly  ;  and  Henrietta  will  have 
looked  on  anxiously  at  the  efforts  of  the  envoys — with 
whom  a  half-brother  of  her  own,  the  Due  de  Verneuil, 
was  associated — to  place  matters  on  a  satisfactory 
footing.  A  scene  is  described  when,  in  the  middle  of 
an  inconclusive  interview  between  the  ambassadors  and 
the  King,  a  door  was  thrown  open  and  the  Queen- 
Mother,  in  retiring,  passed  through  the  room,  saying, 
as  she  went  by,  the  words,  a  Dieu  vous  benisse,"  under- 
stood by  the  Frenchmen  to  contain  an  expression  of 
her  hopes  for  their  success.  By  the  spring  of  1665  it 
was  plain  that  those  hopes  would  not  be  fulfilled,  and 
in  April  war  was  formally  declared  with  Holland.  At 
first  victory  lay  with  the  English,  and  James  was  the 
hero  of  the  hour.  But  by  the  time  that  news  of  his 
successes  reached  London  it  was  in  a  condition  making 
it  difficult   to   rejoice.     The  plague  was  come. 

Whether  the  epidemic  had  a  share  in  deciding 
Henrietta  to  pay  a  visit  to  France  does  not  appear. 
Independently  of  it,  there  was  no  lack  of  cause  for 
her  to  leave  England  for  a  time.  Long  before  she  had 
contemplated  the  step,  the  French  ambassador,  in  a 
letter  to  his  master,  had  predicted  that  she  would  be 
forced  to  take  it.  She  had,  de  Comminges  said,  grown 
very  thin,  and  had  a  consumptive  cough.  Her  doctor 
told  her  that  he  could  not  answer  for  her  life  if  she 
remained  in  England,  and  all  her  household  were  of 
the  same  opinion.     The  envoy's  letter  had  been  written 


THE   QUEEN   GOES   TO   FRANCE       $S3 

before  she  had  been  in  London  six  months.  It  was  now 
close  upon  three  years  since  she  had  left  France.  Her 
health  was  failing  more  and  more,  and  her  thoughts  were 
turning  towards  the  waters  of  Bourbon,  always  efficacious 
in  the  past.  One  consideration  alone  deterred  her  from 
trying  the  cure.  This  was  the  fear  lest,  her  presence 
removed,  the  interests  of  the  Catholics  who  had  gathered 
round  her  chapel  should  suffer.  If  it  were  to  be  closed 
for  a  single  day  in  consequence  of  her  absence,  she 
would,  she  told  Charles,  renounce  the  idea  of  seeking 
a  remedy  abroad,  and  would  stay  in  London,  live  as 
long  as  it  pleased  God,  and  then  die.  It  was  only  when 
the  King  gave  her  the  required  assurance  that  her 
chapel  should  remain  open,  and  the  Capuchins  at  liberty 
to  continue  their  ministrations,  that  she  determined  to 
seek  relief  from  her  ailments  in  her  native  air. 

By  the  end  of  June  her  preparations  for  departure 
had  been  made,  and  Pepys,  calling  at  Somerset  House 
on  the  29th,  found  all  packing  up,  and  heard  that  the 
Queen  was  to  start  for  France  that  day,  "  she  being 
in  a  consumption,  and  intended  not  to  come  home 
till  winter  come  twelve-months." 

Before  leaving  London  she  called  together  the  monks 
in  charge  of  the  chapel,  and  gave  them  their  directions. 
By  God's  grace,  she  said,  she  hoped  her  absence  would 
not  be  long.  The  chapel  was  to  remain  open,  and 
she  charged  them  to  do  their  duty  by  those  who  re- 
sorted to  it.  After  which  she  quitted  London  for  the 
last  time,  and  started  on  her  journey,  accompanied  by 
the  King,  Queen,  and  court  as  far  as  the  Nore,  and  by 
the  Duke  of  York  to  Calais.  When  she  separated 
from  him  there  and  proceeded  on  her  way,  she  had 
taken   final   leave  of  her  two  remaining  sons. 


CHAPTER    XXVII 

1665 — 1669 

Latter  years — Detachment  from  life — Madame's  health — Influence  on 
politics — Louis  at  Colombes — Henrietta  remains  in  France — Eng- 
land and  France — Henrietta's  intervention — Clarendon's  disgrace 
— Monmouth — Last  days — Death  and  burial. 

FOUR  years  of  life  remained  to  the  Queen.  They 
were  years  of  which  comparatively  little  is  to  be 
related.  As  a  factor  of  importance  in  politics  she  had 
long  ceased  to  exist ;  and  if  she  had  hitherto  retained 
her  place  as  a  social  figure  in  the  public  view,  this 
modified  form  of  notoriety  was  in  great  part  to  end. 
At  times,  it  is  true,  she  emerges  from  the  obscurity, 
and  shows  herself  once  again  exercising  an  influence 
upon  the  relations  between  the  country  of  her  adoption 
and  that  of  her  birth  ;  but  such  occasions  only  break  in, 
as  it  were,  upon  a  life  of  seclusion.  For  the  most  part 
she  remained  behind  the  scenes.  The  memoir-writers  of 
the  day  had  little  attention  to  spare  for  a  queen  whose 
life  was  in  large  measure  that  of  a  recluse  ;  and  the 
glimpses  of  her  which  it  is  possible  to  obtain  are  chiefly 
supplied  by  the  records  of  men  ana  women  who  knew 
and  loved  her,  and  were  in  some  sort  associated  with 
her  vie  intime :  the  faithful  old  Capuchin  who  had  accom- 
panied her  in  her  wanderings  ;  Madame  de  Motteville, 
her  friend  ;  and  the  biographer  who  drew  his  materials 
from  the  nuns  who  had  been  the  companions  of  her 
solitude  at  Chaillot. 

554 


LATTER   YEARS  555 

Taking  a  general  survey  of  these  latter  years,  the 
impression  conveyed  is  that,  in  spite  of  failing  health 
and  physical  suffering — in  spite,  too,  of  the  anxiety  and 
sorrow  which  must  have  been  caused  by  the  troubled 
course  of  the  domestic  affairs  of  her  "  other  little  self," 
Madame — they  were  not  unhappy.  If  the  world  was 
becoming  forgetful  of  the  Queen,  she  for  her  part  was 
leaving  the  world  behind  her.  The  inner  and  religious 
life  which,  in  spite  of  mundane  ambitions,  vanities,  and 
trivialities,  had  always  maintained  a  genuine  existence, 
was  gradually  asserting  its  supremacy.  Nor  is  there 
any  record  of  quarrels,  rivalries,  or  intrigues  belonging 
to  this  period.  If  hers  had  been  a  day  of  storm  and 
tempest,  partly  the  result  of  circumstances,  partly  of  her 
own  unwisdom,  the  evening  was  closing  in  serenely,  and 
the  sun,  setting  in  tranquillity  and  peace,  was  illuminating 
the  darkness  of  past  days.  Looking  backward,  she 
had  learnt  to  be  grateful  for  her  sorrows  ;  and  in  the 
seclusion  of  Chaillot,  where  much  of  her  time  was  passed, 
she  was  often  heard  to  say  that  for  two  things  she  gave 
thanks  to  God  daily — that  He  had  maae  her  a  Christian, 
and  that  she  had  been  "la  reine  malheureuse."  The  title 
she  had  claimed  in  the  bitterness  of  her  sorrow  she  now 
accepted  as  a  grace.  "  Her  griefs,"  said  Bossuet,  in  his 
funeral  oration,  "  had  made  her  learned  in  the  science 
of  salvation  and  the  efficacy  of  the  cross." 

Of  any  other  learning,  even  connected  with  religion, 
she  had  probably  little.  It  was  her  daily  custom 
to  read  part  of  the  Imitation  of  Christ,  beginning  the 
book  afresh  when  the  end  was  reached  ;  and  so  constant 
had  been  her  study  of  it  that  she  had  much  of  the  text 
by  heart.  But  on  theological  problems  or  the  con- 
troversies of  the  day  her  interest  had  never  been  great. 
It  is  related  that  when  two  bishops  were  on  one  occasion 


SS&  HENRIETTA   MARIA 

discussing  in  her  presence  the  new  doctrines  concerning 
grace  then  agitating  men's  minds,  she  listened  for  a  time 
to  their  arguments,  whilst  each  strove  to  instruct  her 
in  the  views  to  which  he  inclined  ;  then  asked, 
with  a  simplicity  one  imagines  to  have  been  partly 
assumed,  whether  the  new  tenets  taught  easier  methods 
of  acquiring  holiness,  adding — the  answer  being  mani- 
festedly  drawn  from  A  Kempis — that  she  loved  better 
to  labour  at  acquiring  it  than  to  know  how  it  should 
be  defined.  When  not  prelates,  but  a  feminine  theologian, 
discussed  the  same  controverted  theme,  the  Queen  heard 
her  with  courteous  attention,  praised  the  u  vivacite 
de  son  esprit,"  and  passed  on  to  other  subjects  of 
conversation. 

As  time  went  by,  those  who  watched  her  noted  a 
detachment  from  life  the  more  remarkable  in  a  nature 
that,  apart  from  the  motive  power  of  religion,  would 
have  seemed  made  to  cling  to  things  material.  When 
the  end  was  near  at  hand,  she  observed  to  a  nun 
charged  with  the  duty  of  attending  upon  her  that  it  was 
true  that  for  some  time  she  had  felt  altogether  God's. 
So,  in  peace  and  tranquillity,  she  awaited  what  was  to 
come. 

It  had  been  gradually  and  by  degrees  that,  with 
increasing  infirmities,  she  had  let  go,  as  it  were,  the 
cords  that,  on  her  first  arrival  in  France,  bound  her  to 
life.  There  was  much  in  it  to  interest  her,  both 
pleasurably  and  painfully ;  nor  was  she  likely,  with  her 
warm  heart  and  strong  affections,  to  seek  to  withdraw 
from  participation  in  the  sorrows  and  joys  of  those 
she  loved.  She  had  been  met  at  once  by  trouble  and 
anxiety.  A  false  report  of  the  death  or  disappearance 
of  the  Duke  of  York,  after  the  late  naval  battle,  had 
given    so  severe    a    shock    to    the    Duchess    of   Orleans 


HENRIETTA   AS    MEDIATRIX  557 

that  her  baby  was  born  dead  ;  and  Henrietta  reached 
Versailles  in  time  to  nurse  her  and  watch  over  her 
recovery.  When  this  was  assured  the  Queen  returned 
to  Colombes  until  it  should  be  the  season  to  proceed  to 
Bourbon. 

Other  work  besides  that  of  nursing  had  awaited  her 
in  France.  It  was  possibly  not  on  account  of  her 
health  alone  that  Charles  had  been  ready  to  facilitate  his 
mother's  visit  to  her  native  country.  The  relations  be- 
tween the  two  Governments  were  in  a  critical  condition  ; 
and  he  may  have  looked  to  the  Queen,  with  her  credit 
with  the  Queen-Mother,   to  act  as  mediatrix. 

At  the  French  court  there  was  every  desire  to  avoid, 
if  possible,  a  breach  with  England  ;  but  taking  into 
account  the  "  antipathie  passionee " *  existing  at  the 
moment  between  the  two  nations,  it  scarcely  required  the 
engagement  pledging  France  to  render  assistance  to 
Holland  to  make  war  almost  inevitable.  Under  these 
circumstances,  if  peace  was  to  be  maintained,  no  means 
of  promoting  it  could  be  neglected,  and  Madame  had 
been  rapidly  becoming  an  important  channel  of  com- 
munication between  the  two  Kings.  On  Henrietta's 
arrival  she  was  associated  with  her  daughter  in  conducting 
these  informal  negotiations  ;  and  a  scene  which  took 
place  on  the  very  day  preceding  her  departure  for  Bourbon 
indicates  the  importance  which  attached  to  the  position 
she  occupied. 

On  that  day  Henrietta,  in  her  retreat  at  Colombes, 
received  many  visitors.  Hollis,  the  English  ambassador 
at  Paris,  had  come  to  pay  his  respects  to  King  Charles' 
mother.  Upon  Hollis  followed  Louis  himself ;  whilst 
a  third  guest  was  the  Prince  de  Conde.  Whether  or 
not    the    young  King  was  displeased   at  finding  Charles' 

1  C.  Kousset,  Hisioire  de  Louvois. 


558  HENRIETTA   MARIA 

ambassador  in  possession  of  the  field,  his  bearing  towards 
Hollis  was  distinguished  by  scant  courtesy.  The  envoy, 
however,  was  equal  to  the  occasion,  and  according  to 
his  own  report,  having  received  nothing  but  "a  little 
salute  with  his  head  "  from  Louis,  maintained  the  am- 
bassadorial dignity  by  replying  with  ajust  such  another." 
After  which  he  employed  himself,  during  the  remainder 
of  the  royal  visit,  by  conversing  with  Conde,  who  showed 
himself  very  affectionate  in  all  that  concerned  Charles. 
"  Soon  after,"  pursues  the  ambassador,  "  the  King  of 
France  and  the  Queen-Mother  went  alone  into  her  bed- 
chamber ;  and  our  Princess,  Madame,  went  in  after  they 
had  been  there  at  least  an  hour." 

It  was  hard  upon  the  professional  diplomatist  to  be 
set  aside  at  his  own  business  ;  nor  was  he  to  be  in- 
formed what  had  taken  place  at  the  conference.  When 
Louis  had  brought  his  visit  to  an  end  and  had  taken 
leave  of  his  aunt,  Hollis  ventured  to  ask  the  Queen 
"  how  she  found  things  ?  "  Henrietta,  who  appears  to 
have  become  versed  in  the  art  of  speaking  without  con- 
veying information,  answered  vaguely  that  all  the  talk 
had  been  of  the  Dutch  affairs,  and  that  the  King  had 
told  her  that  he  had  made  Charles  some  very  fair 
propositions,  and  that  if  they  were  refused  he  would 
have  to  take  part  with  Holland.  When  the  ambassador 
further  inquired  whether  she  knew  what  these  pro- 
positions were,  Henrietta  answered  in  the  negative ; 
which  Hollis  considered,  though  possible,  singular.  Per- 
haps, he  added,  she  had  not  thought  fit  to  acquaint  him 
with  them — a  not  improbable  explanation. 

Henrietta's  hopes  of  obtaining  relief  from  the 
Bourbon  waters  were  but  imperfectly  realised  ;  and 
though  she  derived  a  certain  amount  of  benefit  from 
them,  her  health  continued  unsatisfactory,  and  she  suffered 


From  the  picture  by  Sit  Petei  Lety  at  Buckingham  Palace. 
HENRIETTE,    DUCHESS   OF   ORLEANS. 


LATTER   YEARS  559 

in  especial  from  sleeplessness.  The  question  of  a  return 
to  England  does  not  appear  to  have  been  mooted. 
Clarendon  suggests  that  she  had  all  along  contemplated  a 
longer  absence  than  her  avowed  intentions  had  indicated. 
She  may,  on  the  other  hand,  have  insensibly  drifted  into 
making  her  home  in  France.  At  all  events,  the  matter 
never  seems  to  have  so  much  as  come  under  discussion. 
Her  failing  strength  would  have  been  reason  enough  to 
cause  a  return  to  the  more  northern  climate  to  be  inde- 
finitely postponed ;  and  had  she  seriously  taken  the  matter 
into  consideration,  it  may  be  that  her  presence  appeared 
more  necessary  to  Madame  than  to  her  sons  on  the  other 
side  of  the  Channel.  Her  three  years'  residence  in 
London  will  have  taught  her  the  precise  amount  of 
influence  which,  notwithstanding  his  affection  for  her,  she 
was  able  to  exert  with  regard  to  Charles'  domestic  arrange- 
ments ;  whilst  the  genuine  liking  for  his  mother-in-law's 
society  displayed  by  Monsieur  and  his  confidence  in  her 
judgment  may  have  led  her  to  hope  that  she  might 
prove  of  use  in  averting  the  accentuation  of  the  differences 
between  her  favourite  child  and  her  husband.  She 
remained  in  France,  passing  the  winters  in  Paris  at 
the  Hotel  de  la  Baziniere,  assigned  to  her  by  the  King, 
and  retiring  in  summer  to  Colombes,  with  frequent 
intervals  spent  at  the  home  of  her  predilection,  Chaillot. 

Death  was  busy  in  the  royal  house  during  the  year 
1666.  Anne  of  Austria,  after  a  protracted  agony,  borne 
with  something  approaching  to  heroism,  went  in  January 
to  her  rest,  a  tie  which  had  lasted  for  Henrietta  over 
some  fifty  years  being  thus  severed.  And  before  the 
close  of  the  year  Madame's  little  son,  the  Due  de  Valois, 
was  dead  ;  at  which,  says  the  Capuchin  chronicler,  the 
Queen  grieved  very  greatly,  the  more  because  she  knew 
that  his  mother  could  not  be  comforted. 


560  HENRIETTA   MARIA 

To  personal  and  domestic  sorrows  was  added,  for 
Henrietta,  the  formal  and  reluctant  declaration  of  war, 
forced  from  Louis  by  the  terms  of  his  treaty  with 
Holland.  Even  when  this  had  taken  place  there  was  no 
undue  haste  in  the  initiation  of  active  hostilities,  and  Louis 
was  manifestly  ready  to  renew  negotiations  with  Charles. 
Henrietta  was  once  more  at  work  upon  the  endeavour 
to  promote  peace,  and  Clarendon  recorded,  in  1667, 
that  she  had  found  "  another  style  "  at  the  French  court 
"  than  the  one  it  had  been  used  to  converse  in,"  and 
that  the  King  showed  a  desire  for  pacific  relations. 
St.  Albans  was  sent  to  London  to  obtain  a  com- 
mission to  treat  with  Louis  ;  and  though  Charles  at 
first  demurred  at  the  intermediary,  who,  according  to 
the  Chancellor,  "  he  used  always  to  say  was  more  a 
French  than  an  English  man,"  a  limited  authority  to 
carry  on  negotiations  in  Paris  was  at  length  conferred 
upon  him. 

Notwithstanding  the  position  he  filled,  Madame  and 
her  mother  remained  the  chief  channels  of  communication 
between  the  two  courts  ;  and  secrecy  was  considered 
so  essential  that  the  letters  of  each  King  were  sent  under 
cover  to  Henrietta  at  Colombes,  to  be  forwarded 
by  her,  in  envelopes  addressed  in  her  handwriting,  to 
their  respective  destinations.  That  the  secret  is  said 
to  have  been  well  kept  corroborates  the  assertion  that 
Henrietta  had  learnt  the  value  of  silence,  and  the  con- 
fidence placed  in  her  by  both  Kings  bears  witness  to 
a  discretion  she  had  acquired  in  later  years.  It  was  in 
her  hands  that  the  written  pledge  embodying  the  terms 
of  the  agreement,  signed  by  both  Louis  and  Charles, 
was  placed  for  greater  security  when  the  private  negotia- 
tions had  terminated  successfully. 

The  furthering  of  these  negotiations  must  have  been 


PEACE   WITH    FRANCE  561 

the  last  public  work  of  importance  in  which  the  Queen 
engaged.  Their  issue  was  of  the  greater  moment  since, 
at  the  very  time  that  they  were  in  progress,  England 
was  watching  with  humiliation  the  blaze  of  her  own 
vessels,  set  on  fire  by  the  victorious  enemy  in  the  Thames. 
By  the  end  of  July,  peace  had  been  concluded  between 
the  three  belligerents.  The  disastrous  war  was  at  an 
end. 

If  Henrietta  had  a  right  to  rejoice  in  what  was 
in  part  the  result  of  her  labours,  she  can  have  had 
little  attention  at  this  time  to  spare  for  the  affairs  of 
nations.  With  women  private  interests  commonly  take 
precedence  of  public  ones  ;  and  anxiety  with  regard  to 
Madame  was  pressing  upon  the  Queen.  Always  delicate, 
she  had  been  prematurely  confined,  and  her  condition 
had  been  so  serious  that  for  a  quarter  of  an  hour  she 
had  been  believed  to  be  dead.  Her  mother  remained 
at  Saint-Cloud  to  superintend  her  slow  recovery,  and  to 
induce  her  to  forego  for  a  time  her  habitual  amusements. 
It  was,  however,  no  unmitigated  form  of  quiet  that  the 
invalid  could  be  brought  to  tolerate,  and  as  she  lay  upon 
her  couch  the  stream  of  visitors  succeeded  one  another 
from  morning  till  late  at   night. 

Two  events  had  taken  place  in  London  during  the 
course  of  this  year  which  will  have  been  regarded  with 
special  interest  by  Henrietta.  These  were  the  marriage 
of  Frances  Srewart  with  the  Duke  of  Richmond,  and  the 
disgrace  and  dismissal  of  Clarendon.  The  rumour  that 
the  new-made  Duchess,  who  had  by  her  marriage  incurred 
the  hot  indignation  of  the  King,  was  contemplating  the 
application  for  a  post  in  Henrietta's  household,  as  well 
as  the  fact  that  she  kept  a  "great  court"  at  Somerset 
House,  makes  it  probable  that  the  Queen  had  not  shrunk 
from  braving  her  son's  displeasure  by  lending  her  support 


562  HENRIETTA   MARIA 

to  the  woman  who  had,  for  the  time,  severed  her  connec- 
tion with  him  and  pursued  a  line  of  conduct  characterised 
by  Charles  in  a  letter  to  his  sister,  as  being  "  as  bad  as  a 
breach  of  faith  and  friendship  could  make  it."  There 
is  also  negative  proof  that  Henrietta  took  no  part  in 
precipitating  the  fall  of  her  old  enemy,  Clarendon. 
What  evidence  is  forthcoming  points,  indeed,  in  an 
opposite  direction.  In  a  letter  replying  to  remon- 
strances addressed  to  him  by  Madame  Charles  added 
that  he  had  written  at  length  to  the  Queen  on  the  subject 
of  Lord  Clarendon,  and  that  he  had  no  doubt  that  upon 
this  as  upon  other  matters  his  sister  had  been  greatly 
misinformed.  The  inference  to  be  drawn  is  that  his 
mother,  no  less  than  Madame,  had  taken  the  Chancellor's 
part,  and  we  are  justified  in  hoping  that  she  had  no 
pleasure  in  his  undoing,  and  that  old  grudges  were 
forgotten. 

France  was  still  the   school   of  manners,  and  in  the 
winter  of  1666-7  Charles  sent  his  son,  young  Monmouth, 
to  make  his  debut  there  under  his  sister's  auspices.     By 
her  care,  the  lad,  at  nineteen,  was  initiated  into  life  as 
carried  on  at  the  court  of  the  Roi  Soleil  ;    and,  according 
to  Mademoiselle,  was  singled  out  for  special   favour   by 
Louis.     Between  Madame  and  the    Duke  a  fast  friend- 
ship   was    formed,    which,    innocent    as    it    was,    gave    a 
fresh    impulse    to    Monsieur's   jealousy,  and    resulted  in 
the  removal  of  his  wife,  in  his  company  and  that  of  his 
favourite,  the    Chevalier    de    Lorraine,    to    the    country 
retreat  of   Villers  Cotterets,  where  Henrietta  had  taken 
her  daughter  for  change  of  air  during  the  preceding  year. 
If  Madame  had  then  testified  no  liking  for  its  enforced 
quiet,  she  found  it  yet  more  unendurable  when  her  re- 
tirement was  shared  by  her  present  companions  ;  and  she 
must  have  felt  she  was  paying  dearly  tor  the  lessons  in 


After  thf  picture  in  Ihr  collection  of  the  Duke  of  Buccleuck. 

JAMES   SCO  IT,    Iil'KE   OF   MONMOUTH. 


FAILING   HEALTH  563 

the  contre-danse  received  from  her  nephew  in  exchange 
for  her  instructions  in  other  arts. 

Meantime  Henrietta's  strength  was  visibly  failing. 
If  she  had  not  refused  to  take  her  part  in  political  affairs 
when  it  seemed  that  her  interposition  might  prove  of 
use  ;  if  she  was  ever  ready,  in  sickness  or  health,  to  be 
at  Madame's  side  when  circumstances  called  for  her 
presence  there, — she  was  gradually  learning  to  realise  that 
the  sands  of  her  life  were  running  out. 

More  and  more  she  withdrew  from  the  world,  the 
habits  of  the  recluse  encroaching  upon  those  of  the 
Queen.  Whether  at  Chaillot  or  without  its  walls,  she 
was  wont  to  follow,  so  far  as  health  and  the  necessary 
demands  upon  her  time  permitted,  the  rules  of  the 
order  there  established,  her  attention  concentrated  to  a 
greater  and  greater  degree  upon  another  world  from  that 
in  which  her  part  was  nearly  played  out. 

If,  however,  the  end  was  approaching,  it  was  pro- 
bably by  imperceptible  degrees.  Madame  and  her 
mother  were  too  often  together  for  the  declining  strength 
of  the  one  to  have  come  with  a  shock  to  her  daughter, 
and  in  Charles'  letters  to  his  sister,  still  employed  as 
intermediary  in  matters  political  and  the  repository  of 
secrets  of  which  his  ministers  were  ignorant,  there  is  no 
evidence  that  the  Queen's  health  was  matter  of  serious 
anxiety.  In  March,  1669,  after  dealing  with  public 
affairs,  he  goes  on  to  jest  at  his  mother's  proverbial  ill 
luck  at  sea.  A  messenger  sent  by  Madame  had  suffered, 
it  was  supposed,  shipwreck.  "  I  hear,"  added  the  King, 
"  Mam  sent  me  a  present  by  him,  which  I  believe  brought 
him  the  ill  luck,  so  as  she  ought  in  conscience  to  be  at 
the  charges  of  praying  for  his  soul,  for  'tis  her  fortune 
has  made  the  man  miscarry." 

Nevertheless,  when  in  April  another    little  daughter 

VOL.    II.  17 


564  HENRIETTA    MARIA 

was  added  to  the  Orleans  nursery,  the  fact  that  her 
mother  was  not  strong  enough  to  be  with  the  Duchess 
points  to  a  step  downwards.  She  had  been  seriously 
ill  in  the  winter,  and,  though  she  had  recovered,  she 
would  tell  those  about  her  that  she  saw  well  that  she 
must  think  of  her  departure.  If  she  feared  death, 
as  Madame  de  Motteville  says  was  the  case,  she  did 
not  shrink  from  facing  it  ;  and  during  her  last  visit 
to  Chaillot  she  had,  as  if  with  a  presentiment  of  the 
coming  end,  written  out  a  species  of  will. 

Her  headquarters  continued  to  be  at  Colombes,  and 
it  was  there  that  the  summer  and  autumn  of  1669 
were  to  be  spent.  But  she  intended  to  pass  the  Feast 
of  All  Saints  at  Chaillot,  and,  as  one  biographer 
states,  to  make  her  home  there  permanently  for  the 
future. 

It  was  at  her  country  home,  however,  that  the  end 
came.  Built  near  the  river,  some  two  leagues  from 
Paris,  with  nothing  of  grandeur  or  pretension  about 
the  house  or  gardens,  Colombes  was  a  pleasant  and  quiet 
place  wherein  to  pass  the  summer  days ;  but,  as  they 
went  by,  Henrietta's  strength  was  failing.  Her  old 
trouble  of  sleeplessness  was  gaining  upon  her,  nor  does 
it  seem  that  she  contemplated  further  trial  of  the 
Bourbon  waters.  There  is  a  point  where  it  is  tacitly 
agreed  that  remedies  are  vain.  "  The  last  time  that 
I  had  the  honour  of  seeing  her,"  wrote  Madame  de 
Motteville,  "  she  told  Mademoiselle  Testu  and  myself 
that  she  was  going  to  establish  herself  at  Chaillot,  to 
die  there  ;  that  she  would  think  no  more  of  doctors  or 
physic,  but  only  of  her  salvation." 

The  presentiment  of  coming  death  did  not  cloud  or 
sadden  her  mind.  Up  to  the  last  Pere  Cyprian  records 
that  her  conversation  kept  its  gaiety  and  wit,  brightening 


LAST   DAYS  565 

all  around  her.     She  retained  the  gift  of  charming  those 
with    whom  she   was    brought  into    contact.      In    earlier 
days  it  is  said  that  the  nuns  at  Chaillot  found  so  much 
pleasure    in    talking    to    her    that    '  their    simplicity    was 
suffering,'   and  the   Mother  begged  her  to  permit  them 
to  take  their  recreation  apart.      Madame   de   Motteville 
also  dwells  upon  the  familiarity  she  used,  though  without 
losing  her  royal  air,  with  her  friends.     "  She  loved  truth, 
loved  to    speak  it  and    to  hear  it."     Such    qualities  are 
specially  winning  in  a  queen,  and  if  Henrietta  had  had 
her    fair  share  of   hate,  she    had  been  well  loved.     But 
in    spite  of  her   courage,    those   belonging  to   the   inner 
circle    surrounding    her     must    have    had    their    unquiet 
suspicions    that    the    days    of    that    pleasant    intercourse 
were  numbered.     In  August  her  symptoms  had  become 
serious    enough    to    cause    the    Duke    and    Duchess   of 
Orleans  to  urge  a  consultation   of  physicians,  King  Louis 
sending  his   doctor,    M.    Valot,  to  take  part  in   it,  when 
the  Queen  explained  her  malady  so  clearly   as  to  leave 
her  own  medical  attendant  nothing  to  add  save  the  nature 
of  the  remedies  he  had  used.     M.   Valot  then  gave  his 
opinion.     The    illness,   he  told  the    patient,    was  painful 
but    not    dangerous — proceeding    to    prescribe  a  remedy 
for  the  sleeplessness  with  which  she  was  troubled.      He 
would  add,  for  this  purpose,  three  grains  to  the  medicine 
already  administered  by  her  domestic  physician. 

The  mention  of  "  grains  "  appears  at  once  to  have 
suggested  opium  to  the  Queen's  mind,  and  she  protested 
energeticaMy.  Her  experience  was  opposed  to  any- 
thing of  the  kind,  and  she  further  quoted  a  warning 
she  had  received  in  earlier  days  from  Sir  Theodore 
Mayerne,  who  had  cautioned  her  against  the  use  of 
any  such  drug — citing  also,  with  a  laugh,  a  prophecy 
hazarded   long   ago   in   England    that   she   would  die  of 


566  HENRIETTA    MARIA 

a    "  grain."     She    feared,   she   told    the    doctors    lightly, 
it  would  be  one  of  those  now  to  be  given  her. 

M.  Valot,  though  with  much  respect,  declined  to 
be  convinced  either  by  the  authority  of  the  Queen's 
old  physician,  by  her  conviction,  or  by  the  prophecy 
she  had  adduced  in  support  of  it.  The  grain  to  be 
administered,  she  was  assured,  did  not  contain  opium  ; 
it  was  a  medicine  of  special  composition,  of  which  he 
begged  she  would  make  trial. 

In  the  end  the  Queen  gave  way.  Of  the  four 
doctors  present,  three  were  in  full  agreement,  and  she 
yielded  to  their   representations. 

At  supper  she  was  in  good  spirits,  and  Pere  Cyprian 
notes,  with  loving  minuteness,  that  she  laughed  as  if 
she  were  feeling  well.  Going  early  to  bed  she  fell 
asleep,  and  remained  sleeping,  until  the  over-conscientious 
lady-in-waiting,  somewhat  strangely,  roused  her  at  eleven 
o'clock  to  administer  the  prescribed  opiate.  After  this 
she  was  never  heard  to  speak  again.  Mayerne  and 
her  own  presentiments  were  justified.  The  "grain' 
had  killed  her. 

At  daybreak  the  lady-in-waiting,  who  had  left  her 
for  the  night,  came  to  awaken  her  once  more  to  take 
a  draught  prescribed  by  Valot.  Speaking  to  the  Queen 
and  receiving  no  answer,  she  became  alarmed,  and,  when 
all  efforts  to  rouse  her  mistress  had  failed,  she  hastened 
to  summon  priests  and  physicians.  "  We  came  first," 
says  Pere  Cyprian  ;  "  the  doctors  soon  followed." 
Doctors  and  priests  questioned  her,  each  after  their  kind, 
the  first  as  to  her  physical  condition,  the  others  of  sin, 
of  penitence,  of  the  love  of  God.  "  We  entreated  her 
to  make  some  sign  that  she  heard  us."  But  there 
was  no  reply.  The  doctors  believed  her  to  be  not  only 
living,   but   sensible.     A  dull    vapour,  mounting  to   the 


DEATH  567 

brain,  they  said,  prevented  speech.  This  would  dissipate 
and  she  would  show  consciousness.  They  were  wrong. 
The  sacrament  of  extreme  unction  was  administered, 
and  in  silence,  "  with  a  great  sweetness  and  serenity  of 
countenance,"  she  passed  away. 

Accounts  of  the  same  event  are  apt,  with  no  apparent 
motive,  to  differ.  Pere  Cyprian,  who  must  have  been 
intimately  acquainted  with  the  facts,  and  from  whose 
narrative  the  description  of  the  Queen's  last  hours  has 
been  drawn,  should  be  a  good  authority.  On  the  other 
hand,  there  is  no  reason  to  believe  that  St.  Albans, 
in  his  report  to  the  King,  would  have  deliberately  departed 
from  the  truth.  Yet  his  story  varies  in  several  particulars 
from  that  of  the  Capuchin.  According  to  his  statement,  the 
condition  of  the  Queen,  at  the  hour  when  the  laudanum 
should  have  been  taken,  caused  the  physicians  to  decide, 
at  the  last  moment,  against  administering  it  ;  and  only 
when,  unable  to  sleep,  Henrietta  demanded  the  opiate, 
did  her  domestic  doctor  suffer  himself  to  be  over- 
ruled, and,  against  his  judgment,  yield  to  her  desire. 
St.  Albans  goes  on  to  say  that,  remaining  at  her 
side  to  watch  the  effects  of  the  drug  and  becoming 
alarmed  by  the  profoundness  of  her  slumber,  Dr. 
Duquesne  used  all  endeavours  to  rouse  her,  but  in  vain  ; 
and  that  between  three  and  four  in  the  morning  the 
end  had  come. 

It  is  possible  that  the  discrepancy  between  the  two 
accounts  is  due  to  an  attempt  upon  the  part  of  the 
doctor  *:o  shift  the  responsibility  of  the  fatal  measure 
as  far  as  might  be  upon  the  dead,  and  also  to  shield 
himself  from  the  charge  of  negligence  in  having  failed 
to  watch  the  effects  of  the  drug.  In  any  case,  the  matter 
is  of  small  importance,  and  is  only  worth  noticing  as  an 
instance  of  the  difficulty  of  reconciling  contemporaneous 


$6Z  HENRIETTA   MARIA 

reports  of  the  same  occurrence.  The  blame  for  the 
disaster  was  very  generally  laid  upon  King  Louis'  doctor, 
and  an  epigram  of  the  day  pointed  out  that,  whilst 
both  her  father  and  her  husband  had  been  murdered, 
Henrietta  had  not  escaped  a  similar  fate  : 

Et  maintenant  meurt  Henriette, 
Par  l'ignorance  de  Vallot. 

Thus  died  Henrietta  Maria  de  Bourbon,  the  last 
surviving  child  of  the  great  Henri,  in  the  sixty-first 
year  of  her  age.  On  the  following  day  her  heart  was 
carried  by  Walter  Montagu  and  the  whole  of  the 
household  to  Chaillot.  Her  body  lay  at  the  convent 
in  state  until,  on  September  12th,  it  was  placed  at  Saint- 
Denis  amongst  the  kings  of  France,  there  to  remain 
until,  at  the  time  of  the  Revolution,  it  was  ejected  from 
its  resting-place. 

All  honour  was  paid  to  her  memory.  In  England, 
little  as  she  had  there  been  loved  living,  the  mourning 
at  her  death  was  deep  and  prolonged  ;  and  in  France  her 
funeral,  as  well  as  the  subsequent  memorial  ceremonies, 
were  conducted  with  due  splendour  and  magnificence. 
It  was  at  a  great  service,  caused  by  Henriette-Anne  to 
be  performed  at  Chaillot  in  the  following  November, 
that,  in  the  presence  of  the  daughter  who  loved  her 
so  well,  and  with  the  waxen  effigy  of  the  dead  Queen 
lying  before  the  altar,  Bossuet  pronounced  his  celebrated 
panegyric  upon   the  Queen,  the  wife,  and  the  mother. 

Such  panegyrics,  true  or  false,  must  necessarily  partake 
more  or  less  of  the  character  of  a  perfunctory  tribute  ; 
and  Bossuet's  great  oration  is  remembered  rather  as  a 
triumph  of  eloquence  than  as  an  eulogy  of  the  dead. 
But  Henrietta  is  not  of  those  who  need  a  showman  to 
exhibit  their  merits  and  apologise  for  their  defects.     Such 


HER   CHARACTER  569 

as  she  was,  she  displayed  herself  to  the  world,  natural, 
spontaneous,  with  a  total  absence  of  pose  or  pretence, 
and — like  her  daughter — very  human.  On  the  back- 
ground of  a  past  of  shadows  her  figure,  painted  by  her 
own  actions   and  words,   stands  out,  vivid  and  life-like. 

In  spite  of  her  descent,  and  notwithstanding  the 
blood  of  Henri  of  Navarre,  she  was  cast  in  no  heroic 
mould.  Had  a  happier  destiny  been  hers  she  might 
have  passed  through  life  leaving  little  mark,  loving 
God  and  man,  gay,  thoughtless,  self-willed,  and  winning. 
Grief  and  disaster  printed  another  stamp  upon  her,  and 
misfortune  called  forth  a  power  of  resistance,  a  courage,  and 
a  buoyancy  which  might  under  other  circumstances  have 
rested  unsuspected.  But  the  same  circumstances  caused 
her  blunders  to  take  on  the  complexion  of  crimes.  Un- 
fitted by  nature  and  training  to  cope  with  a  crisis  of 
almost  unexampled  difficulty,  she  was  forced  into  a 
position  she  was  unqualified  to  fill  ;  and  her  errors  of 
judgment,  whilst  almost  inevitable,  invited  the  condemna- 
tion not  only  of  her  enemies,  but  of  those  of  the  King's 
adherents  who  suffered  for  them.  The  measure  dealt 
out  to  her  by  contemporaries  was  hard  ;  but  perhaps 
posterity  has  been  even  more  unrelenting.  Living,  if 
the  meddler  in  affairs  of  State,  the  blundering  politician, 
was  hated  and  reviled,  the  woman  was  loved.  Dead,  the 
woman  has  not  seldom  been  forgotten,  and  the  politician 
alone,  with  the  disastrous  consequences  of  her  mistaken 
statecraft,    remembered. 

The  apologist  who  should  endeavour  to  justify  her 
public  actions  would  have  a  difficult  task.  But  in  order 
to  apportion  with  fairness  the  degree  of  blame  attaching 
to  her  unwise  endeavours  to  arrest  the  tide  of  revolution, 
it  must  be  borne  in  mind  that,  unlike  many  who,  sharing 
her  responsibility,  have  incurred  a  less  amount  or  blame, 


570  HENRIETTA   MARIA 

she  was  a  foreigner  whose  period  of  naturalisation  had 
been  wholly  passed  in  the  artificial  atmosphere  of  a  court  ; 
that  any  true  and  serviceable  appreciation  of  the  forces 
arrayed  against  the  English  monarchy  would,  on  her  part, 
have  come  near  to  a  miracle  ;  and,  finally,  that  she  was  a 
woman,  spirited  and  fearless,  but  with  a  woman's  inapt- 
ness  for  a  grasp  of  the  broader  issues  at  stake  and  the 
general  trend  of  events. 

For  the  rest,  a  revolution  inevitably  appears  to  kings 
something  so  out  of  the  common,  so  abnormal,  that  they 
find  a  difficulty  in  realising  the  conditions  of  the  struggle 
sufficiently  to  meet  it  with  wisdom.  "  Helas,"  says 
Amiel  of  the  ultimate  catastrophe  of  death,  "  il  n'y  a 
pas  d'antecedent  pour  cela.  11  faut  improviser — c'est 
done  si  difficile."  It  is  indeed  difficult  to  meet  a  crisis 
having  no  fellow  in  experience,  and  the  actors  called 
upon  to  face  it  may  fairly  claim  the  indulgence  accorded 
to  an  unrehearsed  effect.  That  measure  of  indulgence 
should  be  granted,  not  only  to  Charles  in  his  weakness 
and  vacillation,  but  to  Henrietta,  striving  rashly  and  with 
unpractised  hands  to  build  a  dyke  against  a  deluge. 


APPENDIX    I 

HENRIETTA   MARIA   AND   JERMYN 

It  was  asserted  at  the  time,  and  has  constantly  been  repeated 
since,  that  a  secret  marriage  bond  existed  between  the 
Queen  and  the  man  who  filled  so  many  posts  in  her  house- 
hold. It  was  a  time  when  such  reports,  true  or  false,  were 
apt  to  gain  currency.  Anne  of  Austria  has  been  believed 
to  have  been  Mazarin's  wife,  and  it  was  said  that  the 
widowed  Princess  of  Orange,  Charles  I.'s  eldest  daughter,  was 
married  to  the  younger  Henry  Jermyn,  nephew  and  heir 
to  her  mother's  favourite. 

With  regard  to  the  alleged  marriage  of  Henrietta  Maria, 
the  evidence  is  scanty.  The  affair  was  plainly  matter  of  con- 
temporary gossip.  It  was  mentioned  to  Sir  John  Reresby  by  a 
cousin  of  his  in  a  convent  at  Paris,  and  he  adds  that,  though 
he  was  incredulous  at  the  time,  it  was  certainly  true.  Pepys 
twice  alludes  to  the  report.  "  This  day  Mr.  Moore  told  me," 
he  writes,  November  22nd,  1662,  "  that  for  certain  the  Queen- 
Mother  is  married  to  my  Lord  St.  Albans  ; "  and  again  at 
the  end  of  the  same  year,  "  Her  being  married  to  my  Lord 
St.  Albans  is  commonly  talked  of ;  and  that  they  had  a 
daughter  between  them  in  France,  how  true,  God  knows." 
The  matter  is  also  mentioned  in  the  Comte  de  Gramont's 
Memoirs.  But  the  most  circumstantial  evidence  that  has 
been  brought  in  support  of  a  fact  which,  so  far,  rests  upon 
mere  rumour,  is  contained  in  a  footnote  added  to  an  early 
biography  in  a  reprint  belonging  to  the  year  1820.  It  is 
here  stated  as  "  undoubtedly  true "  that  Henrietta  Maria 
was  married  to  the  Earl  of  St.  Albans  shortly  after  the 
King's  death.  In  proof  of  this  assertion  it  is  related  that 
"  the   late    Mr.  Coram,  the  print-seller,  purchased  of  Yardly 

571 


572  APPENDIX   I 

(a  dealer  in  waste  paper  and  parchment)  a  deed  of  settle- 
ment of  an  estate  from  Henry  Jermyn,  Earl  of  St.  Albans, 
to  Henrietta  Maria,  as  a  marriage  dower  ;  which,  besides 
the  signature  of  the  Earl,  was  subscribed  by  Cowley,  the 
poet,  and  other  persons  as  witnesses.  Mr.  Coram  sold  the 
deed  to  the  Rev.  Mr.  Brand  for  five  guineas,  who  cut  off 
many  of  the  names  on  the  deed  to  enrich  his  collection  of 
autographs.  At  the  sale  of  this  gentleman's  effects  they 
passed  into  the  hands  of  the  late  Mr.  Bindley." 

If  the  tale  is  circumstantial,  it  is  unsupported  by  any 
evidence  now  available  ;  and  there  are  one  or  two  details 
which  tend  to  discredit  it.  The  statement,  in  particular, 
that  the  King's  widow  married  her  favourite  shortly  after 
Charles'  death,  and  that  the  deed  in  question  bore  his  signature 
as  Earl  of  St.  Albans,  is  disproved  by  the  fact  that  only 
immediately  before  the  Restoration  and  ten  years  after 
Charles'  execution  was  Jermyn  raised  to  that  rank.  The 
explanation  of  the  mutilation  of  so  valuable  a  document 
is  also  improbable. 

It  is  likewise  to  be  noted  that,  neither  in  the  letters  sent 
by  Lord  Hatton  from  Paris,  nor  in  any  of  those  of  Hyde, 
Nicholas,  Ormond,  or  other  persons  of  weight,  adverse  as 
many  of  them  were  to  the  Queen,  is  any  allusion  to  the 
marriage  to  be  found.  Their  silence,  it  is  true,  might 
result  from  one  of  two  causes.  They  might  have  been 
ignorant  of  so  important  a  fact,  although  it  was  matter  of 
common  talk,  or  respect  for  their  dead  master's  memory 
might  have  kept  them  silent.  In  the  case  of  men  such 
as  Ormond  or  Hyde,  the  latter  theory  is  not  untenable. 
On  the  other  hand,  it  is  difficult  to  believe  that,  had  the 
marriage  report  been  supported,  if  not  by  actual  proof,  by 
a  respectable  amount  of  evidence,  Hatton,  with  his  inveterate 
love  of  gossip,  or  Nicholas,  in  his  personal  dislike  and 
rancour,  would  have  altogether  avoided  the  subject  and 
forborne  from  allusions  to  a  fact  redounding  to  the  Queen's 
discredit. 

One  more  point  should  be  taken  into  account  in  weighing 
the  evidence — evidence  of  a  somewhat  negative  nature — 
telling  against  the  probability  of  the  marriage  having  taken 


APPENDIX   I  573 

place.  Henrietta's  violent  repudiation  of  the  possibility 
of  a  marriage  between  her  elder  daughter  and  the  Duke 
of  Buckingham,  together  with  her  indignation  at  the  Duke 
of  York's  union  with  Anne  Hyde,  cannot  be  accepted  as 
disproving  a  mesalliance  of  her  own.  But  the  consciousness 
of  a  secret  of  the  kind,  with  the  likelihood  of  its  coming 
to  light,  would  surely  have  tended  to  moderate  her  language 
on  these  occasions. 

It  must,  however,  be  admitted  that  the  perpetual  coupling 
by  her  contemporaries  of  the  Queen's  name  with  that  of 
Jermyn,  in  all  matters  of  conduct,  policy,  or  opinion,  has  a 
cumulative  weight  which  cannot  be  disregarded  ;  whilst  the 
letter  from  jermyn  to  Charles  II.,  with  reference  to  the 
Queen's  attempt  to  convert  the  Duke  of  Gloucester,  quoted 
in  Chapter  XXII.,  appears  to  point  to  some  special  relation- 
ship  between   himself  and   Henrietta. 

On  the  whole,  it  must  be  repeated  that  this  question 
is  one  of  those  hitherto  undetermined   by  history. 


APPENDIX    II 
AUTHORITIES   CONSULTED 

Letters  of  Henrietta  Maria.     Ed.  M.  A.  Everett  Green. 
Lettres   inedites  de  Henriette   Marie.      Ed.    Le    Comte   C.    de 
Baillon. 

Lettres  de   Henriette  Marie   de   France   a   sa   Sceur,    Christine, 
Duchesse  de  Savoie.     Ed.  Ferrero. 

Vie  de  Henriette  Marie  de  France.     C.   C   [Carlo   Cotolendi.] 
1690. 

The  Lives  of  the  Queens  of  England.     Agnes  Strickland. 
Henriette  Marie.     Comte  de  Baillon. 
Frankland's  Annals  of  Charles  L.     1681. 

Life  and  Death  of  Henrietta  Maria  de  Bourbon.     1685.     Re- 
printed by  G.  Smeeton.     1820. 
Memoirs  of  Sir  Philip  Warwick. 
Clarendon's  History  of  the  Rebellion. 
Life  of  Clarendon. 

Strafford's    Letters    and    Despatches.      With    Life,    by   Sir    G. 
Radcliffe. 

The  History  of  the  Thrice  Illustrious  Princess,  Henrietta  Maria 
de  Bourbon.     J.  Dauncey.     1660. 
Court  and  Times  of  Charles  I. 

Commentaries  on  the  Life  and  Reign  of  Charles  I.     B.  Disraeli. 
Cabala.     1691. 

Rushworth's  Historical  Collections. 
Calendars  of  State  Papers  in  the  Record  Office. 
Clarendon  State  Papers. 

Calendar  of  Clarendon  State  Papers  in  the  Bodleian  Library. 
Collins'  Historical  Collections. 
Collection  of  Original  Papers.     Thomas  Carte 
History   of   England   under   Buckingham   and   Charles   I.      S. 
Rawson  Gardiner. 

Personal  Government  of  Charles  I.     S.  Rawson  Gardiner. 

57S 


576  APPENDIX   II 

The  Fall  of  the  Monarchy.     S.  Rawson  Gardiner. 

History  of  the  Great  Civil  War.     S.  Rawson  Gardiner. 

Macpherson's  Original  Papers.,  vol.  i. 

Sir  John  Berkeley's  Relics. 

The  Lady  of  Latham.     Life  and  Letters  of  the  Countess  of  Derby. 
Madame  H.  de  Witt. 

Letters  of  Charles  I.  to  Henrietta  Maria,    1646.     Ed.  J.  Bruce 
(Camden  Society). 

Life  of  James,  Duke  of  Ormond.     Thomas  Carte. 

Tharloe  Papers. 

Green's  History  of  the  English  People. 

Howell's  Familiar  Letters. 

Supplement  to  Sir  John  Dalrymple's  Memoirs. 

Lives  of  the  Princesses  of  England.     M.  A.  Everett  Green. 

Pepys'  Diary. 

Appendix  to  Pepys1  Diary. 

Supplement  to  Burnefs  History  of  His  Own  Times. 

Collection  of  Royal  Letters.     Sir  G.  Bromley. 

Evelyn's  Diary  and  Correspondence. 

Memoirs  of   Prince    Rupert    and    the    Cavaliers.      E.    B.    G. 
Warburton. 

Memoir  of  Gregorio  Panzani,  giving  an  account  of  his  agency 
in  England.     Tr.  J.  Berington. 

Life  of  Strafford.     John  Forster. 

Life  of  Sir  John  Eliot.     John  Forster. 

Memoirs  of  the   Embassy  of  the  Marshal  de   Bassompierre   to 
England.     Tr.,  with  notes,  by  J.  W.  Croker. 

Memoirs  of  Edmund  Ludlow.     With  original  papers. 

Original  Letters.     Sir  Henry  Ellis. 
Autobiography  of  Sir  Symonds  d'Ewes. 

Nicholas   Papers.      Correspondence   of    Sir    Edward   Nicholas. 
Ed.  G.  F.  Warner  (Camden  Society). 
Life  of  Marie  de  Medicis.     J.  Pardoe. 
Henri-Quatre  and  Marie  de  Medicis.     Zeller. 
Journal  de   Jean    He'roard.       Publ.    par    E.    Soulie   et    E.   de 
Barthelemy. 

Regency  of  Anne  of  Austria.     Freer. 

Dictionary  of  National  Biography. 

Memoirs  of  Pere  Cyprian  de  Gamache. 

Madame.     Julia  Cartwright. 

Henriette  Anne  dAngleterre.     Comte  de  Baillon. 


APPENDIX   II 


577 


Memoires    de    Madame    de    la    layette:    Histoire   de   Madame 
Henriette  d 'Angleterre. 

Sir  John  Reresby's  Memoirs. 
Journal  d 'Olivier  Lefevre  Ormesson. 
Muse  Historique.     Loret. 
Journaux  de  Pierre  PEstoile. 
Memoires  du  Comte  de  Brie?me. 
Memoires  du  Cardinal  de  Retz. 
Memoires  de  Madame  de  Motteville. 
Memoires  de  Mademoiselle  de  Montpensier. 

Memoires  du  Comte  Leveneur  de  Tillieres.     Ed.  M.  C.  Hippeau. 
Journal  de  ma  Vie.     Le  Marechal  de  Bassompierre. 
Sully's  Memoires. 


INDEX 


Abingdon,  King  and  Queen  part 

at,  298 
Abruissel,    Father     Robert     d', 

369 

Alexander  VII.,  Pope,  475-6 

Amiens,  Henrietta  at,  47 

Ancre,  Marquis  d',  12.  See 
Concini 

Andover,  Lord,  176 

Anjou,  Gaston,  Due  d',  8,  11. 
See  Orleans 

Anjou,  Philippe,  Due  d',  313, 
471,  495.     See  Orleans 

Anne  of  Austria,  Queen  of 
France,  16,  18,  23,  24,  26, 
35.  47-51*  58,  69,  92,  in  ; 
Regent,  294,  300,  310,  313, 
316  seq.,  339,  355,  370,  371, 
380-2,  387,  389,  402,  403, 
413,  421,  429,  446,  449,  455, 
464,  471,  477,  478,  481,  529, 
534,  535.  549  ;  her  death,  559 

Anne,  Princess,  birth  of,  151; 
death,  218 

Argyle,  Marquis  of,  438 

Army  Plot,  222 

Arras,  battle  of,  462 

Arundel,  Countess  of,  178 

Arundel,  Earl  of,  198,    199,   267 

Ashburnham,    John,     222,    360, 

373 
Aubigny,  Lord,  543 

VOL      II.  579 


Augustine's  Hall,  St.,  Canter- 
bury, 60 

Bamfield,  Colonel,  369 

Barbarini,  Cardinal,  161 

Barram  Downs,  59 

Barrett,  Sir  Francis,  307 

Basset,  Mistress,  168 

Bassompierre,  Marechal  de,  9, 
67  ;  his  mission,  87  seq.,  96  ; 
death,  317 

Baziniere,  Hotel  de  la,  Henri- 
etta's Paris  residence,  559 

Beauvais,     Henrietta     at,    419, 

537 

Bedford,  Earl  of,  289  seq. 

Bellievre,  M.  de,  French  am- 
bassador, 355,  359 

Bennet,  Sir  Henry,  476,  489 

Berkeley,  Justice,  155 

Berkeley,  Sir  Charles,  515,  521, 

523 
Berkeley,   Sir   John,    afterwards 
Lord,  373,  414,  41 S,  457,  469, 
473,  487,  488 
Berkshire,  Earl  of,  326 
Bernini,  the  sculptor,  133 
Berulle,  Pere  de,  42,  49 
Berwick,  Treaty  of,  202,  203 
Blainville,    M.    de,    French   am- 
bassador, 80 
I  Blois,  Henrietta  at,  16 

18 


580 


INDEX 


Bodleian  Library,  royal  visit  to, 

171 
Bonzy,  Cardinal  de,  14 
Boulogne,  Henrietta  at,  55 
Bourbon,  Henrietta  at,  311,  440 
Bossuet,  funeral  oration,  568 
Bosvile,  Major,  369 
Boswell,     ambassador     at     the 

Hague,  259-61 
Boyle,  Lady,  420 
Breda,  Treaty  of,  419 
Breves,  M.  de,  15 
Brienne,  Comte  de,  46-8 
Bristol,  city  of,  surrenders  to  the 

King,  289  ;  given  up  by  Prince 

Rupert,  344 
Bristol,  Earl  of,    406 
Bristol,  George,  Earl  of,  488,  546, 

548.     See  Digby 
Broussel,  M.,  381,  382 
Browne,  Sir  R.,  British  resident 

in  Paris,  380,  432,  456,  471 
Bruges,  Charles  II.  at,  487  seq. 
Buckingham,      George     Villiers, 

1st  Duke  of,  25,   32-5,  45-52, 

63,  68-70,  75.  77-^3,  85,  88-96, 

98,  99  ;  murder  of,  100  seq. 
Buckingham,     George     Villiers, 

2nd  Duke  of,    383,   443,    526, 

527,  529 
Burt,  Francis,  154 
Byron,  governor  of   the   Tower, 

255 

CADENET,   MaRECHAL  DE,    21,    22 

Cadiz,    expedition    against,    68, 

81 
Campbell,  Lady  Anne,  420 
Canterbury,   Charles   I.    at,    55  ; 

Henrietta  at,  59-60,  517 
Capel,  Lord,  354 
Capuchins  in  England,  91,  113-5, 

242,  545 


Carisbrook  Castle,  Charles  I.  at, 

378,  386 
Carleton,    Sir    Dudley,    69,    72, 

134.     See  Dorchester 
Carlisle,    Countess    of,    36,    140, 

143,   144,   183,   197,  240,  248, 

251.    3^3 
Carlisle,    Earl   of,    35  ;     sent   to 

Paris,  36  seq.,  46,   102-4,   I2I» 

142,    143 
Carlyle,  Thomas,  quoted,  63 
Carnarvon,  Lady,  170 
Carnarvon,  Lord,  170,  171 
Castlemaine,  Lady,  538,  540 
Catharine  of  Braganza,   Queen, 

537,  538,  540,  543.  546,  547 

Catholic  League,  2 

Cavendish,  Lord  Charles,  283, 
284 

Chaillot,  412  seq.,  421,  454 

Chapelles,  Comte  de,  549,  550 

Charenton,  437 

Charles,  Archduke,  5 

Charles  I.,  King,  19,  24  ;  in 
Paris,  25,  26  ;  in  Spain,  28, 
29  ;  his  marriage  negotiations, 
38  seq.  ;  meeting  with  Henri- 
etta, 54  seq.  ;  his  coronation, 
78,  79 ;  dismisses  her  suite, 
83-6  ;  quarrels  with  her,  89  ; 
relations  with  Buckingham, 
78,  81,  93,  98,  99  ;  harmony 
between  King  and  Queen,  96  ; 
hears  of  Buckingham's  mur- 
der, 10 1  ;  its  effect  upon  him, 
102,  103;  relations  with  Henri- 
etta, 103,  104,  109,  in;  atti- 
tude on  religious  matters, 
1 12-5,  176,  177;  Henrietta's 
influence  upon,  118-23;  visits 
Scotland,  128  ;  Scottish  corona- 
tion, 129;  love  of  art,  134;  affec- 
tion for  Hamilton,   141,    142; 


INDEX 


58. 


has  smallpox,  145  ;  relations 
with  Panzani,  161,  162;  re- 
ceives his  nephews,  165  ;  visits 
Oxford,  170-2;  presses  collec- 
tion of  shipmoney,  172;  forces 
liturgy  on  Scotland,  178  seq.  ; 
receives  Marie  de  Medicis,  190  ; 
at  York  and  Berwick,  201, 
202  ;  signs  Treaty  of  Berwick, 
202  ;  adopts  Wentworth  as 
counsellor,  205  ;  calls  a  Parlia- 
ment, 206,  215  ;  goes  north, 
213  ;  conduct  towards  Straf- 
ford, 221  seq.  ;  goes  to  Scot- 
land, 236  ;  letters  to  Nicholas, 
238,  239  ;  in  the  City,  244  ; 
his  fears  for  the  Queen, 
247-9  ;  attempts  the  arrest  of 
the  five  members,  250,  251  ; 
leaves  London,  253  ;  parts 
with  the  Queen,  258  ;  refuses 
to  give  up  the  militia,  265  ; 
sets  up  the  royal  standard, 
268,  269  ;  letter  to  Henrietta, 
274,  275  ;  his  anxiety,  ibid.  ; 
influenced  by  the  Queen,  280, 
281  ;  meeting  of  King  and 
Queen,  285,  286  ;  at  Oxford, 
286  seq.  ;  final  parting  with 
Henrietta,  298  ;  letters  to  her, 
304  seq.  ;  at  Oxford,  326  seq.  ; 
successes,  336 ;  defeated  at 
Naseby,  337  ;  refuses  con- 
cessions, 340,  341  ;  in  the 
hands  of  the  Scotch,  354  ; 
wavering  policy,  359  ;  with 
the  army,  373  ;  at  Hamp- 
ton Court,  374  ;  his  injunc- 
tions to  his  children,  375  ; 
in  the  Isle  of  Wight,  378,  385 
seq.  ;  trial,  387  ;  death,  388 
Charles  II.,  King,  born,  115, 
116,  1 49 ;   first  letter,  1 50,  1 82  ; 


his  dream,  211,  212;  meets 
his  mother,  285;  309;  parts 
with  his  father,  326,  327 ; 
marriage  projects,  334,  335, 
345  ;  his  movements,  347  seq.  ; 
at  Paris,  355  seq.,  362,  363, 
370  seq.,  376,  377,  384,  385  ; 
succeeds  his  father,  388  ;  in 
Holland,  397-401  ;  at  Com- 
piegne  and  Paris,  403  seq.  ;  his 
quarrels  with  the  Queen,  405 
seq.  ;  leaves  Paris,  410  ;  at 
Jersey,  411  seq.  ;  at  Beauvais, 
419  ;  signs  Treaty  of  Breda, 
ibid.  ;  in  Paris  again,  434  ; 
his  relations  with  Made- 
moiselle, 440  seq.,  445  seq.  ; 
defends  Hyde,  452  ;  disputes 
with  his  mother,  456,  457  ;  de- 
scribed, 457,  458  ;  leaves 
Paris,  460  ;  continued  dis- 
sension, 462  ;  attitude  with 
regard  to  attempted  con- 
version of  Gloucester,  466 
seq.  ;  reconciliation  with  his 
mother,  475  ;  negotiations 
with  the  Pope,  475,  476  ; 
quarrel  between  the  King  and 
Duke  of  York,  487,  488  ;  in- 
terferes between  his  sister 
and  Harry  Jermyn,  489,  490  ; 
alliance  with  Spain,  491  ;  at 
Fontarabia,  499  ;  visits  his 
mother,  500  ;  Mazarin's  cold- 
ness, 501  ;  improving  for- 
tunes, 503,  504  ;  Restoration, 
505  ;  conduct  re  Duke  of 
York's  marriage,  512  seq.  ; 
grief  at  Duke  of  Gloucester's 
death,  514  ;  meets  his  mother 
at  Dover,  517  ;  consents  to 
his  sister's  marriage,  519,  524  ; 
the    Princess    Royal's    death, 


582 


INDEX 


522  ;  takes  his  mother  to 
Portsmouth,  526 ;  his  mar- 
riage, 537  ;  meets  his  mother 
at  Greenwich,  538  ;  fondness 
for  Duke  of  Monmouth,  539  ; 
affection  for  his  mother,  540  ; 
relations  with  his  wife,  538, 
542,  546,  547  ;  loyal  to  Claren- 
don, 546,  548  ;  anti-French 
proclivities,  551  ;  letter  to 
Madame,  563 

Charles  Lewis,  Prince  Palatine, 
164  seq.,  226,  235,  256,  269, 
299 

Chateauneuf,  M.  de,  French 
ambassador,  111,  118,  123 

Chaulmes,  Duchesse  de,  48 

Chevreuse,  Due  de,  33  l  Charles' 
proxy,  44,  63,  209 

Chevreuse,  Duchesse  de,  19,  23, 
33,  34,46,  58,63,  70,  123,  183, 
191,   197,  203,  208,  209,  316, 

317 
Chillingworth,   292 
Chilly,  Henrietta's  visit  to,  484 

seq. 
Cholmley,    Sir    Hugh,    governor 

of  Scarborough,  279 
Cioli,  Tuscan  secretary,   12 
Clarendon,    Edward    Hyde,    1st 

Earl    of,    reconciliation    with 

the    Queen,     524,     525,     539, 

546,    548  ;     his   disgrace,    561, 

562  ;    also  constantly  quoted. 

See  Hyde 
Clermont,  Jesuit  college  at,  463 

seq. 
Cologne,    Charles    II.     at,     463 

seq. 
Coloma,  Don  Carlos  de,  Spanish 

envoy,  122 
Colombes,    Henrietta's    country 

home,  500,  505 


Comminges,  M.  de,  French  am- 
bassador, 546,  5502 
Compiegne,  Charles  II.  at,  403 
Con,  papal  agent,  163,   164,    175 

seq.,    197,  219 
Concini,  5,  13,  16.     See  Ancre 
Conde,  Prince  de,  392,  421,  427, 

442,  445,  492,  530,  557,  558 
Conde,  Princesse  de,  13,  413 
Conti,  Prince  de,  421,  456 
Conti,  Princesse  de,  50 
Conway,  Lord,  55,  84,  161,  170, 

207,  209,  37c 
Conyers,  Sir  John,  letter  of,  370 
Cordelier  sent  to  England,  30,  3 1 
Cosins,  Dean,  430,  431,  463,  464, 

467 
Cosnac,    Daniel    de,    Bishop    of 

Valence,  530 
Cotolendi,  Carlo,  quoted,  541 
Cottington,  Lord,  108,  121,  160, 

364,  384,  406,  407,  4i7 
Covenant,  the,  187,  295 
Cowley,  Abraham,  329 
Crofts,  Lord,  469,  499,  500,  539 
Cromwell,  Oliver,  373,  374,  449, 

474,  492,  493  ;  death  of,  494, 

495 
Cromwell,  Richard,  497 

Crowther,  Dr.,  512 

Culpepper,  Lord,  360,  363 

Dalkeith,  Lady,  302,  361,  377. 

See  Morton 
Danby,  Earl  of,  172 
Darley,  Mr.,  282 
Dartmouth,  3rd  Earl  of,  514  note 
Davenant,  the  poet,  297,  361 
Davys,  Lady  Eleanor,  106,  107 
Denbigh,  Countess  of,  68 
Denton,  Dr.,  letter  of,  213 
Derby,  Countess  of,  96,  365,  366, 

510,   515,  Sl7-9>  S25>  543 


INDEX 


S*3 


Desmond,  Earl  of,  200,  201 

D'Ewes,  Sir  Simond,  quoted,  62, 
156 

Digby,  George,  Lord,  219,  220, 
249,  250,  254,  257,  258,  268, 
269,  288,  330,  333,  338,  339, 
350  seq.,  364,  378,  396,  400, 
466,  428,  429,     See  Bristol 

Digby,  Sir  Kenelm,  330,  343-5 

Digges,  Sir  Dudley,  82 

Dillon,  Lord,  246 

Disraeli,  Mr.,  119 

Dorchester,  Viscount,  102,  108, 
1 14.     See  Carleton 

Dorset,  Lady,  115,  131 

Dorset,  Lord,  113,  169 

Du  Buisson,  envoy  to  England, 
20,  21 

Dumoulin,  Dr.,  prebend  of 
Canterbury,  544,  545 

Dunbar,  battle  of,  422 

Dunes,  Battle  of  the,  492 

Dunkirk,  taken  by  Cromwell, 
492  ;   sale  of,  548 

Duquesne,  Dr.,  567 

Edward,  Prince  Palatine,  492 
Eliot,  Sir  John,  31,  63,  81 
Elizabeth  de  Bourbon,  Queen  of 
Spain,  15,  29  ;  her  death,  313 
Elizabeth  Stuart,  Queen  of  Bo- 
hemia,   116,    130,   165-7,  226, 
245,  246,  256,  259,   261,  461, 
472 
Elliot,  Thomas,  405-7 
Essex,  Earl  of,  198,  199,  214,  253, 

301,  302 
Evangelical  Alliance,  2 
Evelyn,  John,  quoted,  311 
Exeter,  Queen  at,  299  seq. 

Fairfax,    General,    277,    373, 
379 


Falkland,    Viscount,     134,    288, 

292  ;   his  death,  293 
Falmouth,  Queen  sails  from,  307 
Fayette,  Madame  de  la,  quoted, 

526,  531 
Felton,  John,  10 1,  102 
Fielding,  Lord,  95 
Fiennes,  Madame  de,   549-51 
Finch,   Sir  John,   Lord  Keeper, 

220,  268 
Five    members,    attempted    ar- 
rest of  the,  250  seq. 
Fontarabia,  Charles  II.  at,  499, 

500 
Fontenoy-Mareuil,    Marquis    de, 

French  ambassador,   114,  123 

seq. 
Forster,  John,  quoted,  99,  109 
France,  M.  Anatole,  quoted,  506, 

Francis,  St.,  de  Sales,  17 
Fronde,  the,  387  seq.,   441  seq. 
Fuller,  Thomas,  quoted,  218 

Gamache,  Pere  Cyprian  de, 
115,  304,  361,  393,  396,  516, 
525,  528,  529,  531,  543,  564-7 

Gamester,    The,    Shirley's    play, 

147 
Gardiner,  S.  Rawson,  quoted,  92, 

156,  205,  229,  286,  340 
Garrard,  Lord,  457 
Garrard,  Master  of  the  Charter- 
house, 178 
Glamorgan,  Earl  of,  345 
Glasgow,  Archbishop  of,  129 
Gloucester,  Duke  of.     See  Henry 
Goring,    George,    the    younger, 
199,    222  seq.,   241,   242,  267, 

329 
Goring,    Sir   George,   afterwards 

Lord,  71,   104,   130,  143,   154, 

168,  261,  267.     See  Norwich 


584 


INDEX 


Green,  J.  R.,  quoted,  99 
Griffin,     Duke     of     Gloucester's 

attendant,  467 
Grignan,   M.   de,   French  agent, 

387 
Guiche,  Comte  de,  535-7 
Gustavus     Adolphus,    King    of 

Sweden,  121 

Hague,  The,  Buckingham  at, 
75,  76  ;  Marie  de  Medicis 
at,  189  ;  Henrietta  at,  259 
seq. 

Hamilton,  Marquis  of,  141,  142, 
199, 279 

Hamilton,   William,    163 

Hampton  Court,  73 

Hampden,  John,  63,  83,  181 

Harcourt,  Comte  d',  French 
ambassador,  294,   295 

Hatton,  Lady,  165 

Hatton,  Lord,  398-400,415,  416, 
419,  423,  462,  466,  467,  471, 

473,  474,  483 

Heenvliet,  Dutch  ambassador, 
255,  482,  483 

Henri-Quatre,  1  seq.  ;  murdered, 
9-1 1 

Henrietta  Maria,  Queen  of 
England,  birth,  1  ;  infanc--, 
6  ;  her  father's  murder,  10  ; 
childhood,  13  ;  baptism,  14  ; 
education,  15  ;  at  Blois,  16, 
17  ;  at  her  sister's  marriage, 
17  ;  at  court,  18  ;  marriage 
projects,  19  seq.  ;  the  Comte 
de  Soissons  her  suitor,  24  ; 
Charles  I.  sees  her,  25  ;  her 
marriage  negotiations,  30-44  ; 
betrothal  and  marriage,  44  ; 
parts  with  her  mother,  49  ; 
arrives  in  England,  53  ;  at 
Dover,     55  ;       meeting     with 


Charles  I.,  56  ;  first  disagree- 
ment, 59  ;  enters  London, 
60  ;  first  impressions  of  her, 
62  ;  alleged  pilgrimage,  67  ; 
quarrels  at  court,  67,  68,  70, 
71  ;  the  King's  complaints 
of  her,  72-5  ;  refuses  to  be 
crowned,  78-80  ;  a  fresh  quar- 
rel, 80,  81  ;  her  retinue 
ejected,  83-6 ;  Bassompierre 
and  Henrietta,  87-90 ;  do- 
mestic peace  restored,  94  seq.  ; 
affection  for  the  King,  103, 
104  ;  birth  and  death  of  her 
first  child,  105-8  ;  the  King 
and  his  wife,  1 1 1  ;  lays  the 
corner-stone  of  Capuchin 
church,  113;  birth  of  Charles 
II.,  115;  her  description  of 
him,  116  ;  her  influence  over 
the  King,  118;  its  limits, 
120  seq.  ;  birth  of  Princess 
Mary,  128  ;  of  James  II., 
131  ;  relations  with  Earl  of 
Portland,  1 36  ;  with  Laud, 
138;  with  Wentworth,  139; 
her  friends  at  court,  142-5  ; 
takes  part  in  a  masque,  146, 
147  ;  letter  to  Prince  Charles, 
150;  letters  to  Duchess  of 
Savoy,  151,  152;  popular  dis- 
trust of  her,  156,  157;  relations 
with  Panzani,  161  seq.  ;  visit 
to  Oxford,  170,  171  ;  religious 
quarrels,  176-8  ;  her  account 
of  Scotch  troubles,  179  ; 
letters  to  Wentworth,  185, 
186,  201  ;  receives  her  mo- 
ther, 190  ;  death  of  a  child, 
198  ;  interferes  in  military 
appointments,  199  ;  quarrels 
with  Strafford,  207  ;  Henrietta, 
Strafford  and  Vane,  210,  211  ; 


INDEX 


S*S 


appeals  to  the  Pope,  212,  220  ; 
the  Queen  and  Parliament, 
219  ;  attempts  to  save  Straf- 
ford, 220,  221  ;  letter  to  her 
sister,  226,  234  ;  her  account 
of  the  Army  Plot,  223-7  ; 
her  plans  frustrated  by  Parlia- 
ment, 233,  234  ;  parts  with 
her  mother,  236  ;  at  Oatlands, 
238  seq.  ;  alleged  design  to 
carry  her  off,  241  ;  letter  to 
Nicholas,  243  ;  still  in  favour 
of  resistance,  245,  246  ;  ru- 
mour of  her  impeachment, 
247-9  ;  her  indiscretion,  250, 
251  ;  leaves  London,  253  ; 
goes  to  Holland,  258  ;  at  the 
Hague,  259  seq.  ;  her  letters, 
260  seq.  ;  her  labours,  266 
seq.  ;  in  danger  at  sea,  273, 
274  ;  arrives  in  England,  276  ; 
fired  upon,  ibid.  ;  in  the  north, 
277  seq.  ;  impeached  in  Parlia- 
ment, 282  ;  marches  south, 
283  ;  meets  the  King,  285  ; 
demands  a  peerage  for  Jermyn, 
286  ;  at  Oxford,  287  seq.  ; 
letters  to  Newcastle,  293,  294, 
296,  322  ;  hopes  of  French 
aid,  394  ;  ill  health,  297  ; 
final  parting  with  Charles, 
289  ;  at  Exeter,  299  ;  birth 
of  her  youngest  child,  301  ; 
escape  from  England,  303, 
304  ;  her  condition,  307  ;  at 
Bourbon,  31 1  ;  reception  in 
Paris,  313  ;  installed  at  the 
Louvre,  ibid.  ;  appearance  in 
middle  age,  317  ;  economies, 
318  ;  relations  with  Jermyn, 
320,  321,  415,  416,  Appendix, 
571-3  ;  work  in  Paris,  323  ; 
the   Louvre   court,    329  ;     de- 


clines to  receive  the  Nuncio 
publicly,  331;  illness,  333; 
correspondence  with  the  King, 
335-8  ;  labours,  341  ;  urges 
the  Prince's  coming  to  Paris, 
348  seq.  ;  the  Queen  and 
Mademoiselle,  356,  357,  362, 
363  ;  her  youngest  child 
brought  to  her,  361  ;  inter- 
feres in  Derby  lawsuit,  365, 
366  ;  relations  with  Hyde, 
2,77,  378  ;  her  poverty,  380, 
39°  >  39l  5  interview  with 
Broussel,  381  ;  as  peace- 
maker, 381,  382  ;  visited  by 
de  Retz,  390  ;  receives  tidings 
of  the  King's  death,  394  seq.  ; 
position  at  Paris,  398  ;  her 
hopes,  401  ;  quarrels  with 
Charles  II.,  405-8  ;  is  visited 
by  Mademoiselle,  408-10  ;  her 
religion,  and  Chaillot,  412 
seq.  ;  feeling  against  her,  414  ; 
treated  by  Charles  with  re- 
serve, 410,  417  ;  meets  him 
at  Beauvais,  319;  disap- 
proves his  policy,  319,  320; 
poverty,  321  ;  her  daughter's 
death,  322  ;  quarrels  with 
Duke  of  York,  423,  424  ; 
mourns  her  son-in-law,  425  ; 
Ormond  and  the  Queen,  427, 
428  ;  relations  with  Lord 
Digby,  429  ;  conduct  towards 
Protestants,  430,  431  ;  re- 
calls Duke  of  York  to  Paris, 
432  ;  relations  with  Nicholas, 
436  ;  dissensions  at  Paris, 
438  seq.  ;  promotes  Charles' 
suit  to  Mademoiselle,  440  seq.  ; 
views  as  to  the  matches  pro- 
posed for  James  and  Mary, 
442  :    position  at  Paris,  444, 


586 


INDEX 


445  ;  at  Saint-Germain,  446  ; 
at  the  Palais  Royal,  ibid.  seq.  ; 
feud  with  the  Chancellor,  447 
seq.,  460 ;  receives  Duke  of 
Gloucester,  450  seq.  ;  letter 
re  Henriette-Anne,  455  ;  re- 
newed disputes  with  Charles, 
456  seq.  ;  attempts  Glou- 
cester's conversion,  462-70  ; 
final  parting  with  him,  470  ; 
the  Queen  and  Mazarin,  474  ; 
reconciled  with  her  children, 
475  ;  visit  from  the  Princess 
Royal,  479  seq.  ;  visits  Made- 
moiselle at  Chilly,  484-7  ; 
difficulties  of  her  position  in 
Paris,  492  ;  appeal  to  Crom- 
well, 493  ;  receives  news  of 
Cromwell's  death,  495  ;  re- 
lations with  Charles  II.,  498- 
500  ;  receives  Reresby  at  the 
Palais  Royal,  501,  502  ;  gos- 
sip concerning  her,  503,  543  ; 
joy  at  the  Restoration,  505  ; 
her  daughter's  marriage  in 
question,  506,  509  ;  fresh 
overtures  to  Mademoiselle, 
509,  510;  anger  at  Duke  of 
York's  marriage,  511  seq.  ; 
visits  England,  516;  arrival, 
517  ;  her  melancholy,  521, 
522  ;  accepts  the  Duchess  of 
York.  524,  525  ;  and  is  re- 
conciled with  Clarendon,  525  ; 
returns  to  France,  527  ;  ar- 
rival there,  528  ;  anxieties 
concerning  Madame,  532  seq.  ; 
return  to  England,  537  ;  at 
Greenwich,  538  ;  changes  in 
her  character,  541  ;  hap- 
piness, 542,  543  ;  her  house- 
hold, 543-5  ;  death  of  her 
sister,    547  ;     quarrel    in    her 


household,  549-51  ;  friendli- 
ness towards  France,  551, 
552  ;  ill  health,  553  ;  return 
to  France,  ibid.  ;  peaceful 
years,  554-6;  acts  as  media- 
trix between  England  and 
France,  557  seq.  ;  the  end 
approaching,  563  ;  last  ill- 
ness, 565  ;  and  death,  566  ; 
funeral,  568  ;  and  character, 
568-70 

Henriette-Anne,  Princess,  birth 
of,  301,  302  ;  in  France,  361, 
362,  390,  407,  408,  413,  455 
seq.,  471,  477,  478,  481,  482, 
495,  504,  505  ;  marriage  in 
question,  506  seq.  ;  in  Eng- 
land, 518-20,  522,  523,  526, 
527  ;  marriage  to  Monsieur, 
528,  530  ;  character,  530,  531  ; 
married  life,  532  seq.  ;  her 
child's  birth,  536,  537,  557 
seq.,  568 

Henry,  Prince,  Duke  of  Glouces- 
ter, 375,  388  ;  released,  450  ; 
in  Paris,  451  seq.,  458,  459; 
his  attempted  conversion,  462 
seq.  ;  removal  to  Cologne, 
471,  472  ;   his  death,  514 

Herbert,  Lord,  ambassador  at 
Paris,  26 

Herbert,  Sir  Edward,  457 

Heroard,  Jean,  5 

Hertford,  Marquis  of,  240,  293 

Holland,  Earl  of,  41,  46,  63, 
125  seq.,  142,  143,  168,  183, 
184,  199,  239,  240,  246,  253, 
289  seq.,  382,  383  ;  letters  to 
Buckingham,  69 

Hollis,  English  ambassador,  557, 

558 
Holmby  House,  the  King  at,  368 
Honey  wood,  Sir  Robert,  341 


INDEX 


587 


Hope,  John,  letter  of,  143 
Hotham,  Sir  John,  254,  266,  284 
Howell,  quoted,  63 
Hudson,   Geoffrey,   the   Queen's 

Dwarf,  114,  162,  261,  303,  312 
Humfrey,  Andrew,  157 
Hutchinson,  Mrs.,  quoted,   no 
Hyde,    Anne,  lady-in-waiting  to 

Princess  of  Orange,  461,  483  ; 

her  marriage,   etc.,    511    seq.  ; 

recognised  by  Henrietta,  524, 

525 
Hyde,   Sir  Edward,   Chancellor, 

225,   280,  351,  354,  364,  377, 

378,    384,    385,    398-400,   406 

seq.,    415,  417   seq.,    423,    429 

seq.,  435    seq.,    443,    450,    452, 

456,  460,  461,  466,  471,   483, 

487,      489,     500,     516.        See 

Clarendon 

James  I.,  King,  21,  22,  25,  26 
James,  Duke  of  York,  396,  410, 
422,  424,  426,  428,  431,  432, 

437,  439,  440,  449,  452,  453, 
456,  459,  462,  466,  467,  468, 
470,  471,  473-7,  479,  481-4, 
552,  553,  556;  birth,  128,  131, 
266,  285,  367,  375  ;  escape 
from  England,  378  ;  in  Paris, 
392 ;  quarrel  with  the  King, 
487-9,  491  ;  marriage,  511 
seq. 

Jars,  Chevalier  de,  128  seq. 

Jermyn,  Henry,  afterwards 
Lord,  126-8,  144,  168,  204,207, 
222  seq.,  268,  284  ;  made  a 
peer,  286,  287,  288,  303,  310, 
320,  321,  340,  341,  343,  353-5, 
360,  364,  390,  394,  399,  400, 
403,  404,  415,  416,  418,  423, 
429,  437  seq.,  457,  468,  469, 
480,  482,  489,  490,  498,  499, 


503,    513,    Appendix,    571-3. 

See  St.  Albans 
Jermyn,    Henry,    the    younger, 

484,  487-90 
Jersey,  Prince  of  Wales  at,  349 

seq.  ;   Charles  II.  at,  411  seq. 
Jonson,  Ben,  148 
Juxon,  Bishop  of  London,  163 

Kensington,    Lord,    envoy    to 

Paris,  31  seq.     See  Holland 
Ker,  Lord,  201 

Lanoy,  Madame  de,  50,  51 

Laud,  Archbishop  of  Canter- 
bury, 79,  101,  108,  116,  129, 
138-40,  159,  169,  170-3,  175-7, 
179,  191 

La  Valliere,  Louise  de,  535 

Legge,  Robin,  284 

Leicester,  Earl  of,  letters  to,  119, 
181,  189,  197, 

Lennox,  Duchess  of,  60 

Lenthall,  Speaker  of  the  House 
of  Commons,  327 

Leopold,  the  Emperor,  519 

Lesley,  Sir  Alexander,  284 

Long,  secretary  to   Charles  II., 

4i5 
Longueville,  Due  de,  421,  528 

Longueville,    Mademoiselle    de, 

443 
Loret,  quoted,  451,  492,  493 

Lorraine,  Duke  of,  424,  426,  428, 

445 
Louis  XIII.,  King,  6,10,  11,45-7, 

91,  in,  189,  204;  death  of, 
294 
Louis  XIV.,  King,  313,  354, 
355,  382,  404,  413,  446,  456, 
464,  477-9,  481,  482,  496,  507- 
9,  532,  533,  535,  551.  552,  557, 
558,  560,  565  ;  birth  of,  191 


588 


INDEX 


Louise,  Princess  Palatine,  472 
Louvre,  Henrietta  established  at, 

3*3 
Lovel,  Mr.,  Duke  of  Gloucester's 

tutor,  462  seq. 
Luynes,  Due  de,  13,  19-21 

Madeleine,  Mere,  18 

Mancini,  the  sisters,  477,  478, 
501,  513,  514 

Marguerite  de  Valois,  Queen,  14 

Marie  de  Medicis,  1,  3,  t>3,  37, 
38,  40,  41,  47,  49,  50,  69,  72, 
116,  122,  161,  188  seq.,  203, 
204,  236,  237  ;  her  coronation, 
6  seq.  ;  Regent,  10,  11,  12, 
17-9,  23,  30,  31  ;  Charles  I.'s 
letter  to,  109;  death  of,  271, 
272 

Marie  Therese,  Queen  of  France, 

535 
Marriage    Treaty,    Charles    I.'s, 

41 
Marston  Moor,  Battle  of,  302 
Mary,  Princess,  afterwards  Prin- 
cess of  Orange,  no  note 
426,  443,  451,  461,  476  ;  birth, 
128  ;  208,  255,  260,  261  ; 
widowed,  425  ;  birth  of  her 
son,  ibid.  ;  visits  Paris,  479 
seq.  ;  at  Bruges,  487  seq.  ;  in 
London,  513  seq.  ;    death,  522, 

523 
Maurice,    Prince    Palatine,    235, 

269 
Mayerne,     Sir     Theodore,      108, 

233,  234,  299,   300,   307,  422, 

565,  566 
Mazarin,     Cardinal,     294,     313, 

315,  323,  324,  327,  340,  341. 

352,  353,  355.  402,  425,  474, 

475,  493»  499"5°r.   5Q3>    524; 
death,  529 


Meaux,  M.  de,  96 
Mendes,  Bishop  of,  61,  71,  112 
Michelet,  J.,  quoted,  3,  12 
Mole,  President,  381 
Monglat,  Madame  de,  2,  n,  15 
Monk,  General,  519 
Monmouth,     James,     Duke    of, 
no  note,    538-40,     ^49,    562, 

Montagu,  Walter,  afterwards 
Abbot  of  Pontoise,  141,  160, 
i/5.  197.  295,  430,  431,  438, 
462  seq.,  498,  513,  528,  534, 
568 

Montague,  Bishop  of  Chichester, 
160 

Montmorency,  Mademoiselle  de, 
5 .     See  Conde 

Montpensier,  Mademoiselle  de 
(La  Grande  Mademoiselle),  312 

seq.,  334.  335.  345.  356,  357, 
362,  363,  370  seq.,  396,  397, 
402  seq.,  420,  434,  435,  440 
seq.,  479  seq.,  484  seq., 
507-10,  549 

Montreuil,  French  envoy,  341 

Montrose,  Earl  of,  278,  279 

Moray,  Sir  Robert,  342 

Mordaunt,  quoted,  62 

Morley,  Lord,  148 

Morton,   Countess  of,   396,   418, 

487 

Motteville,  Madame  de,  23,  48, 
50,  51,  68,  69,  140,  179,  180, 
203,  220,  221,  253,  317,  380, 
392,  394,  395,  412,  421,  495, 
509,  510,  513,  533,  534,  536> 
541,  542,  564,  565 

Murray,  William,  254,  261 

Muskerry,  Lord,  492 

My  tens,  the  painter,  134 

Naseby,  Battle  of,  337,  338 


INDEX 


589 


Naworth's    Almanack,    quoted, 

277 
Nethersole,  Sir  Francis,  130,  131 
Newark,  Henrietta  at,  283 
Newburgh,  Lord,  439 
Newburn,  English  rout  at,  213 
Newbury,  Battles  of,  293,  324 
Newcastle,      Earl     of,       148-50, 
253,  329  ;  Charles   II. 's   letter 
to,    275  ;     Henrietta's    letters 
to,    280,   293,    294,    296,    321, 
322 
Newport,  Lady,  176 
Newport,  Lord,  176,  177,  249 
Newport,  Treaty  of,  385 
Newton,      William,      letter     of, 

259 
Nicholas,  Sir   Edward,  secretary 

to  Charles  I.  and  Charles  II., 

195,  238   seq.,    378,    398,  399, 

423,   426  seq.,   435-8,471 

Northumberland,  Algernon,  Earl 
of,  119,  183,  197,  201,207,  209, 
223,  224,  280,  289,  293 

Norwich,  Earl  of,  329,  379.  See 
Goring 

Nottingham,  Royal  Standard 
set  up  at,  268 

Oatlands,  Queen  at,  238  seq. 

O'Hartegan,  Jesuit,  330 

I  (range,  Henry  Frederick,  Prince 

of,  255,  260,  272 
Orange,  Princess  of.     See  Mary 
Orange,  William  II.,   Prince  of, 

married  to  Princess  Mary,  225, 

260,  370  ;    death  of,  425 
Orleans,      Duchessc      de.        See 

Henriette-Anne 
Orleans,  Gaston,  Due  de,  14,  15, 

40,    122,    312,    313,    332,  441, 

442  ;       death     of,      507.     See 

Anjou 


Orleans,  Henri,  Due  de,  13 

Orleans,  Philippe,  Due  de,  506 
seq.,  519,  524,  526,  528; 
marries  Princess  Henriette- 
Anne,  530  ;  married  life,  531 
seq.,  562.     See  Anjou 

Ormond,  Marchioness  of,  520, 
521 

Ormond,  Marquis  01,  t>77>  3&6, 
402,  426-8,  432,  438,  439,  467 
seq.,  498-500 

Ossory,  Lord,  512 

Oxford,  royal  visit  to,  170,  171  ; 
court  at,  286  seq. 

Palatine,  Frederick,  Elector, 
20 

Panzani,  Gregorio,  papal  agent, 
118,  158  seq. 

Pastoral,  the  Queen  s,  140,  147 

Patin,  Gui,  quoted,  536 

Pendennis  Castle,  the  Queen  at, 
308 

Pennington,  Sir  John,  191,  195, 
246,  257 

Pepys,  Samuel,  quoted,  517,  538, 
540,  544,  553 

Percy,  Henry,  Lord,  126,  144, 
168,  181.  214,  222  seq.,  268, 
332,  333<  34L  4i8,  469 

Peronne,  Madame,  114,  300 

Philip,  Father,  the  Queen's  con- 
fessor,  113,  430,  431 

Philip,  III.  King  of  Spain,  16 

Pollard,  222 

Pontoise,  Duke  of  Gloucester  at, 
462  seq. 

Pontoise,  Walter  Montagu,  Ab- 
bot of.     See  Montagu 

Porter,  Endymion,  167,  254 

Porter,  Mrs.,  167 

Portland,  Earl  of,  Lord  Trea- 
surer, 124,  128,  136,  137,  160 


59° 


INDEX 


Portsmouth,  Queen  and  Princess 

Henriette  at,  527 
Poyntz,    Sir    Robert,    letter   of, 

279 
Prynne,  Mr.,  147,  148 
Pym,  John,  63,  143,  227,  282 

Radcliffe,    Sir    George,   432, 

439,  463,  473 
Ravaillac,    Henri-Quatre's   mur- 
derer, 10 
Reade,  Robert,  letter  from,  231 
Rebellion,  Irish,  242 
Remonstrance,  the  Grand,  242-4 
Reresby,  Sir  John,  501-3 
Restoration,  the,  505  seq. 
Retz,  Cardinal  de,  58,  390,  391 
Richelieu,  Cardinal,  19,  20,  122, 

126,  128,  191,  198,  204 
Right,  Petition  of,  98 
Rinuccini,  papal  nuncio,  331 
Rochefoucauld.   Cardinal  de  la, 

14,27 
Rochelle,    77  ;     expeditions   to, 

93,  100 
Rochester.     See  Wilmot 
Roe,  Sir  Thomas,  letters  to  and 

from,     130,    154,    155,     163-7, 

245,  246,  261 
Rossetti,  papal  agent,  208,  232 
Roxburgh,  Lady,  115,  268 
Royal  Slave,  Cartwright's,    171 
Rubens,  Peter  Paul,  134 
Rudyard,  Sir  Benjamin,  44 
Rupert,    Prince,    164,    165    seq., 

195,  256,  268,  269,  284,  289, 

290,  297,  333,  344,  363,  364, 

457,  517 

Sabran,  M.  de,  French  envoy, 

302, 327 
St.   Albans,   Earl   of,    534,    537, 


543-5,  S49-5I.  560,  567-     See 
Jermyn 

Saint-George,  Madame  de,  15, 
59,  83  ;  Henrietta's  letters 
to,  116,  266 

Sancy,  Pere  de,  67,  88 

Savile,  Lord,  284  ;   letter  of,  288 

Savoy,  Adelaide,  Princess  of, 
425 

Savoy,  Christine  de  Bourbon, 
Duchess  of,  17,  151  ;  Henri- 
etta's letters  to,  160,  190,  216, 
349,  401,  408,  414,  417,  421, 
425,  454,  455,  495,  497,  505, 
506  ;    death  of,  547 

Savoy,  Duke  of,  497,  519 

Savoy,  Marguerite,  Princess  of, 
496,  497 

Senneterre,  French  ambassador, 

295 
Ship-money,   181,   182 
Smith,    Sir   Thomas,   letters   of, 

246,  257 
Somerset  House,  90  ;    chapel  at, 

164,  178 
Soubise,  Huguenot  leader,   100 
Spain,  Charles  II. 's  treaty  with, 

491 
Spencer,  Lord.     See  Sunderland 
Stanhope,  Lady,  483 
Stanley,  Francis,  145 
Stewart,      Frances,     afterwards 

Duchess   of    Richmond,    546, 

548  ;    marriage,  561,  562 
Strafford,  Earl  of,  207,  209,  211, 

213,    217  seq.  ;    his   trial,    221 

seq.  ;  and  execution,  230.     See 

Wentworth 
Strickland,  Sir  William,  278 
Strickland,  Walter,  envoy  to  the 

Hague,  268 
Suckling,  Sir  John,  222 
Sully,  Due  de,  3,  9,  12 


INDEX 


591 


Sunderland,  Earl  of,  270,  292  ; 

death  of,  293 
Sussex,  Lady,  letter  of,  267 
Sutherland,  Earl  of,  187 

Taaffe,  Lord,  428 
Temple,  Lady,  letter  to,  288 
Temple,  Middle,  masque  at,  168 
Theobald,  Sir  George,  148 
Tillieres,  Comte  de,  20-2,  30,  31, 

53,  55.  57,  61,  69,  83,  86,  87 
Tillieres,  Comtesse  de,  53,  86 
Traquair,     High     Treasurer     of 

Scotland,  183 
Tromp,  Admiral  van,  273,  276 
Turenne,  Vicomte  de,  453,  462, 

492,  501 

Urban,  Pope,  43,  158,  161,  164 
Uxbridge,   negotiations  at,   326, 
328 

VALETTE,   DUC  DE  LA,    19I 

Valliere,  Louise  de  la,  535 

Valois,  Due  de,  559 

Valot,  Dr.,  565,  566 

Vandyck,  133,   134 

Vane,  Sir  Henry,  207,  210,  211, 

246 
Verneuil,  Due  de,  552 
Verneuil,  Marquise  de,  4,  7 
Verney,  Ralph,  213,  267 
Vervins,  Peace  of,  2 
Vic,  de,  letter  to,  114 
Villiers,  Lord  Francis,  his  death, 

383 


Warburton,  quoted,  286 
Warwick,  Earl  of,  172,  268 
Warwick,  Sir  Philip,  quoted,  1 20, 

134,    144  seq.,    183,    199,   205, 

208,  240,  253 
Watts,  Captain,  341 
Wentworth,     Lord,     97-9,    131, 

139-41,   169,   173,    182,   184-7, 

1946,  199-201,  205,  206.     See 

Strafford 
Weston.     See  Portland,  Earl  of 
Weston,  Jerome,  125  seq. 
Wharton,      Nehemiah,      letters 

quoted,  270 
Williams,  Lord  Keeper,  Bishop 

of  Lincoln,  79 
Wilmot,  Henry,  afterwards  Earl 

of    Rochester,    199,    222    seq., 

333,  34i,  364,  438,  439,  448 
Winchester,  Bishop  of,  520 
Windebank,  Sir  F.,  Secretary  of 

State,  154,  159,  189,  208,  214, 

220,  268,  329 
Windebank,  Thomas,  letter  to, 

231 
Windham,  Mr.,  406,  407 
Wingate,      Mr.,      the      Queen's 

tutor,  133 
Wintour,  Sir  John,  186,  200,  303 
Worcester,  Battle  of,  432,  433 
Wyatt,  Sir  Dudley,  339 

York,  Charles  I.  at,  201,  214  ; 

Henrietta  at,  278  seq. 
York,  Duke  of.     See  James 


Printed  by  Haaetl,   Watson  <5-   Vinty,  Lit.,  London  and  Aylesbury,  England. 


A    FINELY    ILLUSTRATED    WORK 

Mary  Queen  of  Scots 

HER  ENVIRONMENT  AND  TRAGEDY 


BY  T.  F.  HENDERSON 

Author   of   "  The   Casket   Letters   and    Mary   Queen  of   Scots,"   "  Old   World 
Scotland,"  etc.,  and  Editor,  with  W.  E.  Henley,  of  "  The  Centenary  Burns  " 

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of  a  peculiar  fate.  In  an  appendix  the  latest  phase  of  the  Casket 
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HUTCHINSON   AND   CO.,    34,    PATERNOSTER   ROW 


The  Russian  Court 

in  the  Eighteenth  Century 


By  FITZGERALD  MOLLOY 

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realism  and  dramatic  style,  which  have  appealed  to  a  wide  public  and 
gained  the  writer  his  great  popularity. 

In  the  Sixties  and  Seventies 

Impressions  of  Literary  People  and  Others 
By  LAURA  HAIN  FRISWELL 

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W.  E.  Gladstone,  Sir  William  Harcourt,  Sir  Richard  and  Lady  Burton, 
Sir  Benjamin  Ward  Richa  uson,  Sir  Henry  Irving,  Charles  Dickens, 
George  Cruikshank,  Mr.  Sw;  lburne,  Lord  Tennyson,  George  du  Maurier, 
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